Whats the evidence for shoe insoles?
There isn’t much research on shoe insoles, also called orthoses. This means we don’t know whether or not they work for treating bunions or which people they are most likely to help. We found only one small study (a randomised controlled trial) looking at shoe insoles for treating bunions that hurt.[1] It had 209 adults. Here’s what the study showed. • After six months, people who wore insoles had less pain than people who didn’t have any treatment. • But after one year, people in both groups rated their pain as about the same. • And also after a year, people who wore shoe insoles were not any happier with how their foot looked than people who didn’t have any treatment. The study also showed that people who had surgery had less pain, could move their toe more easily and were happier with how their foot looked compared with people who had shoe insoles.References Torkki M, Malmivaara A, Seitsalo S, et al. Surgery vs orthosis vs watchful waiting for hallux valgus: a randomized controlled t
