The foot is the most fundamental part of the human body for providing the body support, absorpting the impact and acting with the environment for propelling during movement. The ankle joint serves as a critical connection between the foot and the upper body. The problems in the foot and ankle will cause pain and weaken the functions of certain parts, and potentially result in further negative consequences to the lower limb, the pelvis even the spine. The orthoses of the foot and ankle, including the insoles, the braces, the arch supports and the ankle-foot orthoses, are used as non-surgical treatments to relieve pain, and compensate or retrieve functions. The foot orthoses could redistribute the plantar pressure distribution and realign the segments of the foot and ankle. The changes in the foot and ankle possibly will lead to biomechanical deviations in the upper body. It is critical to enhance the knowledge of the biomechanical consequences for the estimation of the efficiency and the optimization of the design of the foot ankle orthoses.

orthoses of foot and ankle  /  ankle-foot biomechanics  /  foot injuries  /  joint pressure