The effect of foot orthoses on energetics and lower extremity cycling mechanics in healthy recreational adults

The use of custom foot orthotics and wedging techniques has been recognized in the literature as an accepted method to mechanically alter or improve joint function at the hip and knee. This study investigated the effect of foot orthoses on energetics and lower extremity cycling mechanics in healthy recreational adults during. Specifically, the effect of two commercial insoles and one lateral heel wedge on net metabolic power and lower extremity mechanics was quantified. It was hypothesized that alterations to medial foot support would affect lower extremity mechanics as well as net metabolic power. Participants (n = 10) included young (26 ± 4 years) male (n=6) and female (n=4) recreational cyclists (8 ± 4 hours/week cycling). The cyclists completed an individualized protocol that involved cycling in four foot orthoses conditions (Control, Insole 1, Insole 2, Wedge) at three power intensities (50%, 65%, 80%) derived from initial max watt test. A one-way repeated measures analyses of variance (ANOVA) was employed to detect influences of condition and sub-maximal workload on net metabolic power. Furthermore, a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was chosen to detect differences between condition and sub-maximal workload on cycling kinematics. Contrary to our proposed hypothesis, there was no significant effect of foot orthoses on net metabolic power or lower extremity mechanics during cycling. While the findings from this study did not show significant differences in net metabolic power or lower extremity cycling mechanics between shoe conditions, there were observed trends that warrant the need for more comprehensive research.