Taking A Closer Look At Rearfoot Posting

Volume 15 - Issue 6 - June 2002
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Key Guidelines On Heel Posting

When assessing the need for applying heel posting to custom orthoses, Robert “Daryl” Phillips, DPM, says he uses the following guidelines.

• Heel posting made from crepe or other non-rigid materials is flat posted with no motion. We know it takes only a very short time (days to weeks) before the heel post has been worn down so there is at least 4 degrees of motion. Dr. Phillips says this indicates the patient’s body weight landing on this heel post material compresses it sufficiently to produce adequate motion.

• Patients with less than 10 degrees of total motion of the subtalar joint will have less than 4 degrees of heel post motion. Patients with tarsal coalitions, degenerative joint disease of the subtalar, midtarsal or tarso-metatarsal joints have rigid orthotics with flat rigid heel posts.

• Order a 2-degree motion heel post for patients in whom both the subtalar and midtarsal axis have high pitches. When you’re assessing these patients, Dr. Phillips says you’ll see almost no frontal plane motion and almost pure transverse plane motion when both joints move through their range of motion.

• Order a 2-degree motion heel post for patients who are forefoot posted with more than 5 degrees of inversion of the heel.

• Emphasize flat heel posts for patients who have “Blake orthotics.” If they encounter symptoms when they start wearing the orthotics, Dr. Phillips recommends adding heel post motion by grinding the lateral side of the post 1 degree at a time until the symptoms disappear.

• Don’t add any heel post to the orthotics of patients who have less than 5 degrees of ankle joint dorsiflexion with the knee extended.

Q: How do you determine the appropriateness of the 4-degree rearfoot varus post and what clinical signs would suggest not to use it?
A: Dr. Dananberg says there are various clinical signs he uses to determine whether a 4-degree RF varus post is acceptable. For example, what if the patient’s foot appears pronated in stance, but the outside of his shoes (lateral aspect) shows excessive wear? If so, the patient is inverting while walking and posting will only compound the issue, according to Dr. Dananberg.
You should also check for calluses on the feet and determine whether they’re lateral or medial in location, advises Dr. Dananberg. “If they are predominately lateral and the skin sub 1st metatarsal head is smooth and soft, then posting may again compound the situation,” he explains.
If you see excessive contraction of the lesser digits in conjunction with the above findings, Dr. Dananberg says the patient has a strong inversion component to his or her walking, so using an RF post is contraindicated.
Overall, Dr. Dananberg feels the best way to determine the appropriateness of rearfoot posting is to use in-shoe pressure testing to determine the nature of weight flow and then post accordingly. Dr. Volpe recommends a three-pronged approach:
Assess the varus angulation of the rearfoot (tibia and subtalar joint);
Consider the clinical condition(s) you are treating; and
Consider the purpose and objectives of the foot orthosis.
Dr. Volpe prefers to assess the rearfoot varus (subtalar and tibial varum) during the biomechanical exam in order to determine the appropriate degree of posting. He says a lower combined rearfoot varus assessment yields a lower rearfoot angulation and a higher deformity requires a higher angulation.
Dr. Volpe may increase the angulation in patients who have a high valgus compensation of the rearfoot on weightbearing, ligamentous laxity or other signs of severe pronatory deformity.

This method, which results in rearfoot posts from 0 to 8 degrees in most cases, should help you identify when the standard 4-degree varus post is contraindicated, according to Dr. Volpe. He adds that in most cases in which you’re prescribing orthotics for shock absorption, weight dispersion, etc., and limitation of pronation is not an objective for the orthosis, a 4-degree rearfoot post would be high and a lower angulation would be recommended. On the other hand, he notes he is more likely to use a high rearfoot post when he wants to limit the extent or duration of pronation in the gait cycle or if clinical circumstances call for inversion of the rearfoot.
When it comes to clinical signs for not using a 4-degree rearfoot varus post (or other high rearfoot varus posts), Dr. Volpe says you should be wary of a varus relaxed calcaneal stance position, lateral heel callus or a history of inversion lateral ankle sprains or lateral ankle instability. Also, if your patient demonstrates a lateral shift or excessive lateral weightbearing in the stance phase of gait, Dr. Volpe says you should avoid high rearfoot varus posting.
Since orthotic laboratories have taken over the creation of these devices for clinics, Dr. Phillips says podiatrists must decide whether to use heel posting at the time they write the orthotic prescriptions. While there are certain guidelines (see “Key Guidelines On Heel Posting”) that he follows when treating patients, Dr. Phillips says heel posting is “very much in the realm of a clinical art.” In his experience, a 1-degree change in heel post motion can be very helpful or hurtful.
“The clinician has to be aware of the heel post motion and is left many times to experiment with it, increasing or decreasing until achieving the right result,” sums up Dr. Phillips. He says this requires you to make small adjustments in an office setting and you should emphasize to your patients that these adjustments are “still very much a part of the orthotic therapy process.”

Dr. Dananberg (shown on the right) practices in Bedford, NH.

Dr. Phillips is the Director of Podiatric Residency at the Coatesville Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Coatesville, Penn.
Dr. Volpe is a Professor and Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at the New York College of Podiatric Medicine. He is also the Medical Director of Langer, Inc.