The prevalence of the flat foot condition and insole prescription in people with Down’s syndrome: a retrospective population-based study

[Purpose] The general approach for flat foot (FF) treatment in people with Down’s syndrome (DS) is the use of insoles. However, the appropriate timing of the first insole prescription remains unclear. An aim of this present research was to investigate the status of prevalence of FF and orthosis prescription in the DS population. [Subjects and Methods] Two hundred fifteen subjects with DS who were seen at our hospital were retrospectively investigated. Investigated parameters were: prevalence of FF and other foot diseases, ratio and timing of orthopaedic consultation, ratio and timing of orthoses prescription, and mean age at the time of orthosis prescription. [Results] The prevalence of FF was 27.0% (58 subjects), and 50 subjects (23.3%) consulted an orthopaedic surgeon. An orthosis was prescribed for 54 subjects; 88.9% of these orthoses were insoles. Foot and leg orthoses other than insoles were prescribed significantly more frequently for females than males. The mean ages at the time of the first prescription of all types of orthoses and an insole were 7.3 years and 6.4 years, respectively. [Conclusion] The prevalence of FF was low, and the age at which subjects with DS were prescribed an orthosis was relatively high at our institution compared to previous reports. Since physical therapists see patients who could potentially have FF, those with suspected FF should then be referred to an orthopaedic doctor, which would enable the earlier orthosis prescription.