3D-Printed Plantar Orthoses and the Conditional Viability of Recycled PLA
Abstract
Plantar orthoses play an important role in podiatric care, as they help to redistribute plantar loads, improve foot function, and support the treatment of various conditions, including diabetic foot disease. In this context, additive manufacturing has substantially expanded the capacity to produce customized orthoses through digital geometry acquisition, computational design, and controlled fabrication. From a biomimetic and bionic perspective, 3D-printed plantar orthoses can be understood as engineered interfaces that reproduce, support, or modulate key biomechanical functions of the human foot, including load redistribution, shock attenuation, adaptive stiffness, and gait stabilization. Additive manufacturing enables these biological and biomechanical principles to be translated into patient-specific devices through controlled geometry, graded structures, and material selection. Moreover, from a sustainability perspective, recycled polylactic acid (rPLA) has emerged as a material of potential interest for this type of application, not only because of its compatibility with 3D-printing processes but also because it offers the possibility of reusing polymer waste and reducing the consumption of virgin raw materials in devices whose service life may be limited. This review examines the conditional viability of recycled PLA for 3D-printed plantar orthoses by integrating direct clinical evidence on orthotic function with indirect technical evidence from material-level and process-level studies. The reviewed literature indicates that recycled PLA may offer environmental and economic benefits; however, repeated thermomechanical reprocessing may alter viscosity, dimensional consistency, crystallinity, interlayer adhesion, and mechanical reliability. Recent orthosis-focused studies show that extrusion-based technologies can be applied to customized insoles, lattice or internally reinforced structures, multimaterial systems, and emerging smart concepts; however, most of these developments still rely on virgin or ad hoc-designed materials rather than recycled feedstocks. Overall, the available evidence suggests that recycled PLA should not yet be regarded as a direct substitute for virgin PLA in plantar orthoses. At present, the evidence supporting the use of recycled PLA in plantar orthoses is predominantly indirect and technical rather than directly clinical. Its use appears technically promising, but its viability remains conditional and depends on feedstock traceability, control of the manufacturing process, the suitability of material properties for device function, and validation of the orthosis under clinical conditions.