Reducing Foot Pain and Peak Plantar Pressure in Patients With Foot Pain

July 8, 2026 updated by: University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

A Comparison of the Effectiveness of OrthoFeet HandsFree Therapeutic Shoes in Reducing Foot Pain and Peak Plantar Pressure

The research project aims to evaluate the effectiveness of OrthoFeet Hands-Free therapeutic shoes and prefabricated inserts in patients with foot pain.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Patients with foot pain frequently have gait dysfunctions resulting in higher mechanical stress and peak plantar pressure in some areas of the foot. Older people with foot pain have impaired balance and reduced walking speed compared to those without foot pain. Higher peak plantar pressure further increases the risk of falls in older populations. By wearing custom-fit devices, such as prefabricated depth shoes, footwear modifications, and orthoses, patients can redistribute pressure by lowering the peak plantar pressure in specific areas. Similarly, these custom-fit devices and shoes may mitigate the level of pain in patients after wearing the shoes for a certain period. Understanding how different orthotics, shoes, and inserts redistribute plantar pressure and lower foot pain is essential to prescribing the proper footwear to foot pain patients. The proposed study will investigate the effectiveness of OrthoFeet Hands-Free therapeutic shoes and prefabricated inserts in patients with foot pain compared to their own shoes. This will be achieved by completing four aims. The first aim will determine the patient shoe wearing compliance, comfort, acceptance, and feasibility of OrthoFeet Hands-Free therapeutic shoes in patients with foot pain. For the second aim, the investigators will determine the effectiveness of reducing foot pain after a 6-weeks intervention of wearing OrthoFeet Hands-Free therapeutic shoes. The third aim will determine the progressive improvements in physical activity, quality of life, and reduction in peak plantar pressure following a 6-weeks intervention period. For the fourth aim, the investigators will compare the effectiveness of reducing plantar pressure between OrthoFeet Hands-Free therapeutic shoes and patients own shoes. The investigators hypothesize that the degree of foot pain mitigates with reduced peak plantar pressure in patients with foot pain after a 6-weeks intervention of wearing OrthoFeet Hands-Free therapeutic shoes greater than occurs when patients continue to wear their own customary shoes. The outcomes from the study will provide a better scenario of how the OrthoFeet shoes and inserts impact the plantar pressure distribution during walking in patients with foot pain. This will further help in future research studies to modify existing designs and guide the development of novel therapeutic treatments for foot pain patients.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
50

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Texas
      • Harlingen, Texas, United States, 78550
        • Hafizur Rahman

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • be able to give written, informed consent
  • self-reported foot pain including heel pain, arch or ball of the foot pain, and hallux limitus/rigidus joint pain
  • not engaged in any physician prescribed treatment plan
  • in-tact protective sensation as determined using Semmes Weinstein monofilament

Exclusion Criteria:

  • patients with plantar ulcer
  • patients with major foot deformities such as charcot foot, pes cavus
  • patients with lower extremity amputation including minor amputation
  • foot pain because of nail disorder of keratotic lesions
  • patients with unstable conditions such as recent stroke, anticipated changes in medication regime
  • acute fractures of the foot
  • patients with major cognitive impairment or major depression
  • patients with lower extremity decreased protective sensation
  • engaged in any treatment of foot pain including icing, oral anti-inflammatories, creams, injections, physical therapy
  • swelling

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
No Intervention: Own Shoe
Patients wearing their own appropriate shoes
Experimental: OrthoFeet shoe
Patients wearing OrthoFeet shoes with standard inserts
Device: OrthoFeet HandsFree Therapeutic Shoe
Patients with foot pain will be recruited for this study and will go for an intervention of wearing OrthoFeet therapeutic shoes for 6 weeks. Each patient will be evaluated and will participate in data collection before and after intervention.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Foot pain
Time Frame: Baseline, 6 weeks, 12 weeks
Foot pain will be assessed using the Foot Function Index (FFI) questionnaire. It has three subsections: pain, disability, and activity limitation. The scores for the pain and disability subsections range from 0 to 90 (0 represents best and 90 represents worst), and the score for activity limitation ranges from 0 to 50 (0 represents best and 50 represents worst).
Baseline, 6 weeks, 12 weeks
In-shoe Peak Plantar pressure
Time Frame: Baseline, 6 weeks, 12 weeks
In-shoe peak plantar pressure data will be recorded as patients walk with a pressure-measuring sensor placed inside their shoes. The unit will be Kilopascal (kPa).
Baseline, 6 weeks, 12 weeks
Pressure-Time Integral
Time Frame: Baseline, 6 weeks, 12 weeks
Pressure-Time integral data for different foot regions will be measured as patients walk with a pressure-measuring sensor placed inside their shoes. The unit will be Kilopascal-sec (kPa-s).
Baseline, 6 weeks, 12 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Quality of life
Time Frame: Baseline, 6 weeks, 12 weeks
Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short Form questionnaires (SF-36) will be used to assess the quality of life. The SF-36 form has four subsections: pain, distance, walking speed, and stair climbing. Each subsection score ranges from 0 to 100 (where 0 is the worst, and 100 is the best health status).
Baseline, 6 weeks, 12 weeks
Physical activity
Time Frame: Baseline, 6 weeks, 12 weeks
Physical activity will be expressed in terms of average steps per day. Patients will wear Actigraph accelerometers for seven consecutive days, and we will record the average steps per day.
Baseline, 6 weeks, 12 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
June 5, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
April 30, 2026

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
April 30, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
May 29, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 17, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
July 24, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
July 10, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 8, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • IRB 23-0032

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

A de-identified and anonymous dataset will be created for sharing purposes. The dataset will only be shared upon reasonable request and with a written agreement from the recipient. All outcomes, results, and findings will be published in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

The de-identified and anonymous dataset will only be shared after the study is completed and results are published in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

Yes

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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