Lateral foot wedging for medial knee osteoarthritis

Lateral wedging for medial knee osteoarthritis is recommended by several national rheumatology associations. Lateral wedging works by decreasing the external knee adduction moment at the knee. It does not change knee alignment. Two of the key risk factors for medial knee osteoarthritis are a high adduction moment and obesity. Both of these are predictors of the rate of progression of medial knee osteoarthritis. The results of research on lateral wedging for medial knee osteoarthritis is mixed, but this could be due to the inclusion criteria in studies (as high BMI is a predictor, they should be excluded from lateral wedging studies) and there is an inconsistency in the type of lateral wedge used. The evidence is that the wedge should be full length and not just under the heel. There is not one piece of evidence that lateral foot wedging actually puts the foot at increased risk for any problems. For more information on this, see this thread on Podiatry Arena:  Lateral foot wedging for medial knee OA & How do you do lateral wedging for medial knee osteoarthritis

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