Foot orthoses for children with flat feet (the OSTRICH trial)

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    Orthotics for Treatment of Symptomatic Flat Feet in Children - The OSTRICH study

  • IRAS ID

    282832

  • Contact name

    David Torgerson

  • Contact email

    david.torgerson@york.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    University of York

  • ISRCTN Number

    ISRCTN14602568

  • Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier

    NCT04104555

  • Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier

    79, SWAT MRC Northern Ireland Hub for Trials Methodology Research Effect of birthday cards with or without nudge on retention and data completion rates in trials involving children

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    2 years, 1 months, 30 days

  • Research summary

    Orthotics and exercises for the treatment of flat feet: the OSTRICH TRIAL

    Background
    As a child grows the shape of their feet changes and most develop an arch. For some children, the arch does not fully form or may be flat against the ground. If this happens, it is known as having flat feet. Having flat feet can cause pain in the feet, legs or back. At the moment we're not sure what the best treatment is for people with this condition.

    Aims
    We are going to run a trial to compare three of the most common treatments for children with flat feet used in the NHS to find out which is the best. Two of these treatments will test two different types of insoles, which are put inside the shoe. The third treatment involves some exercises and advice about which types of shoes might help.

    Methods
    We would like 1055 children and young people aged between six and 14 years old to take part in the study. Everyone will receive advice about the type of shoes to wear, ankle exercises and routine monitoring. 422 participants will receive a pre-made insole that is the right size and 422 will receive an insole which is individually made for them. We will ask participants for their help for 12 months. During this time they will be asked to fill in some questionnaires and reply to some text messages asking how painful their feet are. We also want to learn more about the problems that flat feet cause and children's experiences of the treatments. We will invite some children/young people and their parents to take part in some in-depth conversations. Once we have finished the trial we will work with the people who provided the trial treatments to get their views on the study treatments.

  • REC name

    North East - York Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    20/NE/0173

  • Date of REC Opinion

    6 Aug 2020

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion