Review: Treatment of Forefoot Problems in Older People: Patient information on appropriate shoes is as effective as podiatric treatment

Wrong footware is a major source of forefoot pain. Especially in patients older than 50 years, inadequate shoes can be found frequently. A study from the Netherlands demonstrated that standardized advice on proper shoe characteristics and fit of shoes by means of an information leaflet provides a similar effect in pain reduction than podiatric treatment.

Review on van der Zwaard BC, van der Horst HE, Knol DL, Vanwanseele B, Elders PJ.: Treatment of forefoot problems in older people: a randomized clinical trial comparing podiatric treatment with standardized shoe advice. Ann Fam Med. 2014 Sep-Oct;12(5):432-40

Reviewed by Prof. Dr. med. Markus Walther, Head of the Department of Foot and Ankle Surgery at the Orthopaedic Hospital Munich-Harlaching and Medical Director of Schön Klinik München Harlaching and FIFA Medical Centre Munich. He is board member of the German Association for Foot Surgery and currently serving as president. His current scientific work focuses on biomechanics, sports traumatology and reconstructive surgery of foot and ankle, as well as minimal invasive surgery. He is Professor for Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Wuerzburg, Germany.