SynthesisBMC musculoskeletal disorders2014
The effectiveness of shoe insoles for the prevention and treatment of low back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.
Synthesis in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 56 citations in OpenAlex.
- Telecoaching: a potential new training model for Charcot-Marie-Tooth patients: a systematic review.Frontiers in neurology · 2024Pooled it
- Motor Learning in Response to Different Experimental Pain Models Among Healthy Individuals: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2022Pooled it
- Restriction in lateral bending range of motion, lumbar lordosis, and hamstring flexibility predicts the development of low back pain: a systematic review of prospective cohort studies.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2017Pooled it
- Custom-Made Foot Orthoses as Non-Specific Chronic Low Back Pain and Pronated Foot Treatment.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Trial
- Effects of Physical Activity on Motor Development, Balance, and Psychosocial Well-Being in Children and Adolescents with Down Syndrome: A Systematic Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Telecoaching and Migraine: Digital Approach to Physical Activity in Migraine Management. A Scoping Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Physicians' experiences with indications and prescriptions of foot orthoses-A cross-sectional study in northern Germany.Heliyon · 2024Article
- [Experience with orthopaedic insoles-a cross-sectional study].Orthopadie (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2024Article
- Assessing the Subjective Effectiveness of Sensorimotor Insoles (SMIs) in Reducing Pain: A Descriptive Multicenter Pilot Study.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2023Article
- The biopsychosocial-digital continuum of foot orthosis practice and research: the VALUATOR model.Journal of foot and ankle research · 2021Article
- Leg Length Discrepancy and Nonspecific Low Back Pain: 3-D Stereophotogrammetric Quantitative Posture Evaluation Confirms Positive Effects of Customized Heel-Lift Orthotics.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2021Article
- Garments and Footwear for Chronic Pain.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Prefabricated foot orthoses compared to a placebo intervention for the treatment of chronic nonspecific low back pain: a study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.Journal of foot and ankle research · 2018Article
- A survey of foot orthoses prescription habits amongst podiatrists in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.Journal of foot and ankle research · 2018Article
- Non-Specific Low Back Pain.Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2017Review
- National profile of foot orthotic provision in the United Kingdom, part 1: practitioners and scope of practice.Journal of foot and ankle research · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLow back pain (LBP) is a significant public health problem in Western industrialised countries and has been reported to affect up to 80% of adults at some stage in their lives. It is associated with high health care utilisation costs, disability, work loss and restriction of social activities. An intervention of foot orthoses or insoles has been suggested to reduce the risk of developing LBP and be an effective treatment strategy for people suffering from LBP. However, despite the common usage of orthoses and insoles, there is a lack of clear guidelines for their use in relation to LBP. The aim of this review is to investigate the effectiveness of foot orthoses and insoles in the prevention and treatment of non specific LBP.
methodsA systematic search of MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE and The Cochrane Library was conducted in May 2013. Two authors independently reviewed and selected relevant randomised controlled trials. Quality was evaluated using the Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias Tool and the Downs and Black Checklist. Meta-analysis of study data were conducted where possible.
resultsEleven trials were included: five trials investigated the treatment of LBP (n=293) and six trials examined the prevention of LBP (n=2379) through the use of foot orthoses or insoles. Meta-analysis showed no significant effect in favour of the foot orthoses or insoles for either the treatment trials (standardised mean difference (SMD) -0.74, CI 95%: -1.5 to 0.03) or the prevention trials (relative risk (RR) 0.78, CI 95%: 0.50 to 1.23).
conclusionsThere is insufficient evidence to support the use of insoles or foot orthoses as either a treatment for LBP or in the prevention of LBP. The small number, moderate methodological quality and the high heterogeneity of the available trials reduce the strength of current findings. Future research should concentrate on identification of LBP patients most suited to foot orthoses or insole treatment, as there is some evidence that trials structured along these lines have a greater effect on reducing LBP.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.