Comparison of 2 Conservative Treatment Approaches for the Flat Foot in Children Aged 5 to 10: Foot Orthoses Versus Foot Orthoses Supplemented With Zukunft-Huber Manual Therapy

Abstract

The aim was to find if foot orthotics alone can improve flat feet in children and analyze how the addition of Zukunft-Huber manual therapy and corrective bandaging changes the outcome. Forty-nine children aged 5 to 10 with asymptomatic flexible flat feet were divided into 2 groups. The first was treated with foot orthoses alone, in the second wearing foot orthoses was supplemented with Zukunft-Huber manual therapy and corrective bandaging. Pedobarography during gait was performed before the therapy and after a year. In the first group decrease in arch index, width, force, and area of midfoot, increase in force MH2 and area hindfoot was found, in the second decrease in arch index, width, force, and area of midfoot, increase in force under metatarsal head second, third, fourth, and fifth, area metatarsal head fourth and area hindfoot. Both methods showed positive changes, but foot orthoses with additional intervention were more effective.