Objective: To study the use rate, outcome, and concomitant factors of the use of the total contact orthoses (TCO) in the Foot Clinic, Siriraj Hospital

Materials and Methods: The present study was a cross-sectional descriptive study collecting data from patient medical records and questionnaires. Patients who had foot problems without impairment of foot sensation and received the TCO from the Foot Clinic between July 2015 and April 2016 were interviewed before and after using the latest TCO for one month.

Results: One hundred seven participants were recruited. Most were female (84.1%) with a median age of 59.3 years. The majority had chronic plantar fasciitis (26.2%), posterior tibial tendon dysfunction (PTTD) (25.2%), hallux valgus (21.5%), or metatarsalgia (21.5%). The TCO user was defined as a participant who had to use the TCO for more than three days per week and for more or equal to 50% of daily walking and standing duration. The use rate was 67.3%. The TCO provides standing and walking stability (p=0.008). For patients with metatarsalgia, using the TCO could significantly reduce pain (p=0.002). Using univariate analysis, many factors were found to be associated with the use of the TCO including having level of convenience of putting on or taking off shoes with TCO at 9 or more (odds ratio 2.66, 95% CI 1.16 to 6.12), having difficulty to find proper shoes that fit with the TCO (odds ratio 0.36, 95% CI 0.15 to 0.89), receiving more than one pair of TCO (odds ratio 4.09, 95% CI 1.51 to 11.05), and having level of comfort satisfaction during the TCO use at 9 or more (odds ratio 3.61, 95% CI 1.55 to 8.40). The latter two factors were found to be associated with the use of the TCO from stepwise logistic regression analysis (adjusted odds ratio 3.39, 95% CI 1.18 to 9.71 and 3.02, 95% CI 1.07 to 8.47, respectively).

Conclusion: The use of the TCO in the Foot Clinic, Siriraj Hospital was 67.3%. Using the TCO could promote walking stability. Factors affecting the use of the TCO included receiving more than the first pair of TCO and having comfort satisfaction level of 9 or more.

Keywords: Use, Total contact orthoses, Total contact insole, Foot problems

DOI: doi.org/10.35755/jmedassocthai.2020.12.11044

Received 29 June 2020 | Revised 29 September 2020 | Accepted 1 October 2020