BACKGROUND: The benefits of biomechanical insoles for treating lower limb impairment have been reported. However, in clinical practice, low compliance with the use of such orthoses has been observed, which detracts from the possible benefits. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the factors related to compliance with biomechanical insole use. METHOD: Thirty-three subjects (aged 44 ± 14.7 years) for whom biomechanical insoles had been molded took part in this study. A questionnaire asking about the insoles and their use was applied through interviews. The study variables were established from these questions. Based on the results obtained, the participants were divided into four groups according to their compliance level: full compliance, partial compliance, irregular compliance and non-compliance. The Kruskal-Wallis test was utilized to assess differences between these groups regarding the variables investigated. Spearman correlation coefficients were utilized to investigate possible relationships between these variables and the compliance. RESULTS: Among the 33 participants, 15.2% were fully compliant, while 42.4% abandoned the insoles. Comparing the four compliance groups in relation to the variables investigated, significant differences were observed regarding insole comfort (p=0.003), improvement attributed to the insoles (p=0.006), and degree of knowledge of the problem (p<0.002). Significant correlations (r s=0.58; p<0.001; and r s=0.50; p<0.01) were observed between compliance and the comfort and improvement attributed to the insoles, respectively. CONCLUSION: The findings from this study revealed that the comfort and degree of improvement attributed to the insoles may influence the compliance with the use of these orthoses. These factors are important for the success of the treatment.
biomechanical insoles; compliance; orthosis
