CONFERENCE COVERAGE: 2017 ISPO World Congress

Next-Level Thinking in O&P:

Istockphoto.com #519915153

Cape Town, South Africa, isn’t easy to get to from most first-world countries. But the experts who gathered there in May for the biennial International Society for Prosthetics & Orthotics World Congress aren’t known for taking the easiest path to effective patient care. Research presented at this year’s congress, and the related discussions among attendees that followed, illustrate the many ways specialists from around the world are reexamining traditional interventions to give O&P device users even greater mobility, functionality, and satisfaction.

All articles by Jordana Bieze Foster


ANKLE FOOT ORTHOSES: Efforts to optimize outcomes focus on stiffness, alignment

Given the heterogeneity of many patient populations for whom ankle foot orthoses (AFOs) are indicated, it’s not surprising that AFO experts are at the forefront of the current trend favoring customization of devices to meet individual patient needs. Research presented in May at the 2017 International Society of Prosthetics & Orthotics (ISPO) World Congress in Cape Town, South Africa, illustrated some of the many ways AFO stiffness and alignment can ...

NONMECHANICAL EFFECTS: Sleeves showcase softer side of knee pain management

Less may be more when it comes to knee bracing in some patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) and patellofemoral pain (PFP), according to studies of soft knee braces presented in May at the 2017 ISPO World Congress in Cape Town, South Africa.

DIABETIC FOOTWEAR: Scientific approach to insole design helps reduce pressure

A scientific approach to insole design can help reduce plantar pressures associated with diabetic footwear, in turn reducing the risk of plantar ulcerations, according to research presented in May at the 2017 ISPO World Congress in Cape Town, South Africa.

OSTEOARTHRITIS: Studies explore mechanisms for distal knee OA therapies

Studies presented in May at the 2017 ISPO World Congress in Cape Town, South Africa, added to knee experts’ understanding of the mechanisms underlying distal interventions to reduce pain and joint loading in patients with medial knee osteoarthritis (OA).

INSOLE MODELING: Computer analysis facilitates foot orthosis development

Computer modeling is facilitating advances in insole development for patients with diabetic neuropathy and rheumatoid arthritis, according to data presented in May at the 2017 ISPO World Congress in Cape Town, South Africa.