Effect Of Adhesive Medial Longitudinal Arch Support On Postural Sway

Previous research has indicated that custom foot orthotics can decrease postural sway. Custom orthotics can be expensive and time consuming to fabricate. The purpose of this study was to determine if cost effective, disposable adhesive arch supports could decrease postural sway in a group of subjects stratified on navicular drop. A 2x2x3 factorial design with repeated measures on the last two factors was employed. Independent variables were navicular drop (large & small), stance position (dominant limb & double limb) and arch support (low dye, felt pad & barefoot). The dependant variables were anterior/posterior stability index (APSI), the medial/lateral stability index (MLSI), and the overall stability index (OSI) measured in degrees of displacement on the Biodex Stability Station (BSS). Testing took place in the Biokinetic Research Laboratory: Athletic Training Division at Temple University. 22 uninjured male and female subjects (mean age=23.05 y, ht=171.08 cm, wt=72.3 kg) volunteered to participate. Subjects reported to the lab for three counterbalanced test sessions within one week. Navicular drop was measured and 6-9 mm was classified as small and 10-15mm was classified as large. Testing consisted of the platform moving for 30 sec, from the most stable level of 8 to the least stable level of 1. Subjects performed 3 trials in the dominant and the double leg stance for a total of 6 trials for each arch support condition. Subjects were permitted to watch the screen during testing. The average of 3 trials for each test condition was used for statistical analysis. There was no significant main effect for navicular drop height, position, or arch support for any of the dependent variables. Adhesive arch support does not reduce postural sway in healthy subjects. Foot structure, as determined by navicular drop, does not appear to effect postural sway.