Orthotics for Treatment of Symptomatic Flat Feet in Children - The OSTRICH study
Overview
Principal Investigator: Mr Keith Jacob
Project Type: Non-commercial portfolio
Project site status: Closed to recruitment - in follow up
Project site date open to recruitment: 05/11/2022
Project site planned recruitment end date: 31/05/2023
Summary:
Orthotics and exercises for the treatment of flat feet: the OSTRICH TRIAL
Background
As a child grows the shape of their feet changes and most develop an arch. For some children, the arch does not fully form or may be flat against the ground. If this happens, it is known as having flat feet. Having flat feet can cause pain in the feet, legs or back. At the moment we're not sure what the best treatment is for people with this condition.
Aims
We are going to run a trial to compare three of the most common treatments for children with flat feet used in the NHS to find out which is the best. Two of these treatments will test two different types of insoles, which are put inside the shoe. The third treatment involves some exercises and advice about which types of shoes might help.
Methods
We would like 1055 children and young people aged between six and 14 years old to take part in the study. Everyone will receive advice about the type of shoes to wear, ankle exercises and routine monitoring. 422 participants will receive a pre-made insole that is the right size and 422 will receive an insole which is individually made for them. We will ask participants for their help for 12 months. During this time they will be asked to fill in some questionnaires and reply to some text messages asking how painful their feet are. We also want to learn more about the problems that flat feet cause and children's experiences of the treatments. We will invite some children/young people and their parents to take part in some in-depth conversations. Once we have finished the trial we will work with the people who provided the trial treatments to get their views on the study treatments.