Effect of foot orthoses on foot problems in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of Foot orthoses (FO) on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and offer new evidence-based insights for clinical treatment.

PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Scopus, Web of Science databases were searched. The search dates were from inception to July 2025. Clinical randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the use of FO for the treatment of foot-related issues in RA patients were identified and screened based on predefined inclusion criteria. Data extraction, risk of bias assessment, and meta-analysis of the included studies were subsequently conducted.

Eight RCTs (n = 486) were included; six underwent meta-analysis. Meta-analysis showed that FO was effective in relieving foot pain (p = 0.01), foot disability (p = 0.01), but for activity limitations (p = 0.72), mental health (p = 0.70) were ineffective. Additionally, subgroup analyses showed that short-term FO interventions were effective in relieving foot pain (p = 0.0009), but long-term interventions appeared to be ineffective (p = 0.71).

FO effectively reduces foot pain and disability in RA patients, but effects on activity limitations and mental health are limited. Short-term FO therapy is feasible for RA patients with foot issues, but long-term benefits are unproven. Future work must standardize the production of customized FO and conduct long-term RCTs to validate currently unproven results.