Purpose: The main aim of this review is to report the effect of different types of in-shoe and barefoot wedges on the distribution of the plantar loading of the human foot. We hypothesise that frontal plane wedges modify this parameter.
Methods: A systematic review was performed, using the PubMed, CINAHL, Prospero and Scopus databases, consulted from their date of first publication to May 2020. Only observational (cross-over studies), randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-experimental studies addressing the effects of in-shoe and barefoot frontal plane wedges on plantar loading were included. All articles were subjected to quality assessment, using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale for the observational (cross-over) studies, TREND for quasi-experimental studies and the Cochrane Collaboration's tool for the RCTs.
Results: Eleven papers were included in the final review. Four were cross-over studies, other four were quasi-experimental studies and three were RCTs. These eleven studies included 320 patients, with ages ranging from 20 to 60 years. Regarding the risk of bias, most of the observational studies and RCTs had a moderate level of quality.
Conclusions: The results suggest that lateral wedges are more effective, producing a lateral shift of the centre of pressure and increasing the pressure. Regarding the impact on the peak impact force there seems to be less consensus among the published data.
Keywords: Custom-made orthoses; Foot; Foot orthoses; Systematic review; Wedge.
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