Table 4 Customised FO prescription habits by UK sector
|  | Early RA (n = 47) |  | Established RA (n = 63) |  | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Solely public sector (n = 12) | Solely private practice (n = 18) | Combination (n = 17) | Solely public sector (n = 19) | Solely private practice (n = 21) | Combination (n = 23) | |
Methods used to capture 3D shape of foot | ||||||
 Plaster of Paris | 1 (8.3%) | 6 (33.3%) | 6 (35.3%) | 2 (10.5%) | 7 (33.3%) | 8 (34.8%) |
 Foam impression box | 11 (91.7%) | 9 (50%) | 8 (47.1%) | 17 (89.5%) | 11 (52.4%) | 12 (52.2%) |
 Electronic scanning/ imaging | 0 (0%) | 3 (16.7%) | 3 (17.6%) | 0 (0%) | 3 (14.3%) | 3 (13.0%) |
 Weightbearing | 7 (58.3%) | 8 (44.4%) | 6 (35.3%) | 11 (57.9%) | 9 (42.9%) | 13 (56.5%) |
 Non-weightbearing | 5 (41.7%) | 10 (55.6%) | 11 (64.7%) | 8 (42.1%) | 12 (57.1%) | 10 (43.5%) |
Manufacturing techniques | ||||||
 Computer aided manufacture | 3 (25%) | 9 (50%) | 8 (47.1%) | 9 (47.4%) | 12 (57.1%) | 9 (39.1%) |
 Traditional manufacturing techniques | 9 (75%) | 9 (50%) | 9 (52.9%) | 10 (52.6%) | 9 (42.9%) | 14 (60.9%) |
Shell material | ||||||
 Highly rigid | 1 (8.3%) | 2 (11.1%) | 3 (17.6%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 1 (4.3%) |
 Semi rigid | 4 (33.3%) | 5 (27.8%) | 8 (47.1%) | 2 (10.5%) | 7 (33.3%) | 4 (17.4%) |
 Semi flexible | 5 (41.7%) | 8 (44.4%) | 4 (23.5%) | 8 (42.1%) | 8 (38.1%) | 12 (52.2%) |
 Highly flexible | 2 (16.7%) | 3 (16.7%) | 2 (11.8%) | 9 (47.4%) | 6 (28.6%) | 6 (26.1%) |
Rearfoot posting material | ||||||
 None | 3 (25%) | 2 (11.1%) | 1 (5.9%) | 3 (15.8%) | 3 (14.3%) | 3 (13.0%) |
 Intrinsic | 4 (33.3%) | 6 (33.3%) | 5 (29.4%) | 5 (26.3%) | 6 (28.6%) | 6 (26.1%) |
 Highly rigid | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) |
 Semi rigid | 1 (8.3%) | 1 (5.6%) | 3 (17.6%) | 0 (0.0%) | 1 (4.8%) | 2 (8.7%) |
 Semi flexible | 4 (33.3%) | 9 (50%) | 8 (47.1%) | 10 (52.6%) | 9 (42.9%) | 8 (34.8%) |
 Highly flexible | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 1 (5.3%) | 2 (9.5%) | 4 (17.4%) |
Top cover | ||||||
 Minimal | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
 Cushioning | 6 | 10 | 8 | 11 | 9 | 10 |
 Cushioning with modification to forefoot | 6 | 9 | 6 | 12 | 15 | 14 |
 Cushioning with modification to midfoot | 3 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 4 |
 Cushioning with modification to rearfoot | 3 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 4 |