Orthopaedic shoes along with physical therapy was effective in Charcot-Marie-Tooth patient over 10 years.

Abstract

The aim was to investigate the effectiveness of custom-made orthopaedic shoes (derby shoes) along with physiotherapy (twice a week) on a person with Charcot-Marie-Tooth over a period of 10 years. A 66-year-old woman with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, who did not have other health conditions, complained of pain and frequent falls. Physical examination, including ankle, knee and hip muscle strength; sensory evaluation of foot and joint range of motion; self-reported assessment of pain, frequency of falls and sprains; and gait analyses, including spatial and temporal parameters and motion analyses, were performed in 2001, 2007 and 2011. During the 10 years of follow-up, the physical examination parameters had stabilized since 2001; falls, sprains and walking distance had improved as compared to 2000; pain had alleviated since 2001 and gait parameters had improved up to 2007 and stabilized between 2007 and 2011. Bracing with orthopaedic shoes along with physical therapy was effective in treating pain, improving the gait and enhancing the walking distance (>500 m) without assistive device in a person with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. Orthopaedic shoes along with physical therapy can be a good option for treating Charcot-Marie-Tooth associated pain, foot drop, falls and sprains, improving the gait abnormalities and also increasing the walking distance.