#0105 The effect of wearing insoles with a toe-grip bar on occupational leg swelling and lower limb muscle activity: A randomized cross-over study
Using Insoles with Toe-Grip Bars May Prevent Occupational Leg Symptoms
If otherwise healthy people must sit or stand for hours on end due to their work responsibilities, they may be at risk of developing occupational leg symptoms, such as leg swelling, leg pain, and feelings of heaviness and tension in the legs. Preventing occupational leg symptoms is often challenging. Occupational therapists have recently turned their attention to insoles, which are pieces of material that a user inserts into footwear for added comfort or a better fit, as a preventative measure.
Insoles with toe-grip bars, which improve toe-grip strength and reduce leg swelling during walking, may be particularly effective. To determine whether insoles with toe-grip bars truly are effective at preventing occupational leg symptoms, we conducted a randomized trial, a detailed description of which appears in an article recently published in the Journal of Occupational Health.
In brief, we recruited 12 healthy men who worked in either sitting or standing positions for extended periods. We randomized these men into group A, the members of which initially used insoles with toe-grip bars for 8 hours a day, and group B, the members of which initially used regular insoles for 8 hours a day. After the study’s first week, the members of groups A and B switched to the other group’s insole type for the second week. We measured leg swelling at the beginning and end of each study week.
Our findings showed that wearing insoles with toe-grip bars led to reduced leg swelling and healthier leg muscle activity patterns. Although the present study relied on a small sample and included no women, these results suggest that insoles with toe-grip bars may be effective interventions for preventing occupational leg symptoms and promoting healthy muscle activity in the legs.
We hope that future studies with larger sample sizes will provide more information about the effects of wearing insoles with toe-grip bars.
Link to the original journal article:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/1348-9585.12193
Title of the paper:
The effect of wearing insoles with a toe-grip bar on occupational leg swelling and lower limb muscle activity: A randomized cross-over study
Authors:
Hideki Nakano, Shin Murata, Yoshihiro Kai, Teppei Abiko, Dai Matsuo, and Michio Kawaguchi
