زهرا رئیسی

Background and Objective: The improvement of balance control is essential for conducting daily activities as a basic functional ability. The important role of external intervention on foot balance as the main point of contact between the land and body has been indicated in the literature. The aim of the present study was to compare and investigate the effects of using insoles with different wedges on balance control with and without visual input before and after fatigue. Materials and Methods: A total of female students with a mean age of 24.31±2.47 years were selected as the study population according to study inclusion criteria. Three semi-rigid insoles (with no wedge, as well as with 10-degree lateral and medial wedges) were used in this study. The subjects' balance was recorded using the Biodex Balance System while wearing three types of the insoles before and after applying the fatigue protocol and in the presence and removal of the visual information. Data analysis was carried out using repeated measures and analysis of variance. Results: The obtained results of the statistical analysis showed significant differences in terms of static balance while using medial (P=0.03) and lateral (P=0.001) wedge insoles with the closed eyes before and after fatigue. However, further analysis demonstrated no significant difference in the improvement of dynamic balance. Conclusion: Using the wedge insoles can reduce the effects of fatigue which leads to a decrease in the static balance of the individuals; nevertheless, there was no improvement in relation to dynamic balance.