Compliance of patients wearing an orthotic device or orthopedic shoes: A systematic review

Abstract

Background: Alongside the positive effects of use of orthotic devices for the lower extremities (ODLE) and orthopedic shoes, complaints and criticism by users possibly lead to non-compliance.

Objective: The purpose is to determine the compliance of patients wearing an ODLE or orthopedic shoes and to describe the main reasons for using and not using.

Methods: Different online databases were searched for articles about patients' compliance with regard to an ODLE or orthopedic shoes. A methodological quality control was conducted.

Results: Ten studies (1576 patients) were included. The data revealed between 6 and 80% not users. Several reasons for not using the orthotic device were described (e.g. pain, discomfort and cosmetically unacceptable).

Conclusions: The high percentage of patients who are not wearing the prescribed orthotic devices leads to a high financial loss for society and a waste of therapeutic effort. These results should be taken into account during the design, construction and selection process of orthotic devices.

Keywords: Compliance; Orthopedic shoes; Orthotic devices.