Home
Click on image to download a full PDF of the issue
Latest Cover Story
Editor’s Note: As of press time, the US Centers for Disease Control has reported 1299 cases of e-cigarette- or vaping-associated lung injury (EVALI) and issued interim guidance to assist with assessment, evaluation, management, and followup. The cases have been reported in 49 states and the Distric of Columbia, with 26 deaths reported across 21 states.
By Nicole Wetsman
Vaping Excerpt
Excerpted from: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Quick Facts on the Risks of E-cigarettes for Kids, Teens, and Young Adults. Updated March 11, 2019. Accessed Sept. 30, 2019.
Latest Articles
Understanding the ‘odd gait’ of autism
Read More
Autism Linked to Between-Limb Asymmetries Across the Gait Cycle
Read More
Quantitative Gait Assessment in Children With 16p11.2 Syndrome
Read More
Early Orthotic Intervention in Pediatric Patients, Part 2: Down Syndrome, other neurological conditions, and toe walking
Read More
Early Orthotic Intervention in Pediatric Patients, Part I: Cerebral Palsy
Read More
Healthcare Provider-Implemented Foot Evaluations for Walking Exercise Programs
Read More
Chronic Ankle Pain? Put Os Trigonum Fracture in the Differential
Read More
Enthesis: Unique Structure Makes Tendon-to-Bone Repairs Complicated
Read More
At All Levels and Categories of Cycling: Correct Poor Crank-arm Fit to Relieve Chronic Knee (and Hip) Pain
Read More
A Common Class of Antibiotics Can Lead to Tendon Rupture
Read More
Patient Perspective – Beyond Bunions: Feeling Footloose and Fancy Free 6 Years After Surgery
Read More
Inclusion In the Exam Room, In the Locker Room, On the Field
Read More
Special Features
Understanding Sensitivity and Specificity of Screening Tools for Early Detection of DFUs
In his June anniversary issue commentary, Proper Diabetes Care Can Reduce Rising Lower Extremity Amputation Rates (LER July 2019), Mark Hinkes, DPM, responded to the disheartening news that lower extremity amputations are increasing in the United States with a call to action: “I believe that the time has come for the standard of care of diabetic foot pathology to be PROACTIVE and that change in philosophy embraces PREVENTION.”
Today’s standard practices for diabetic foot screening involve physician and patient assessments that are high touch and low tech…and time-consuming. At a time where technology has profoundly changed our daily lives, it is hard to believe these effects have not spilled over into the prevention and early detection of diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs). But reading the new study by Lavery et al., “Unilateral remote temperature monitoring to predict future ulceration for the diabetic foot in remission,”1 makes me optimistic that the tide is about to turn. If this happens, the next question will be: “how do clinicians judge the effectiveness of such new technologies?”
By Lynn Soban, PhD, MPH, RN
Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs), the primary antecedent to diabetes-related lower extremity amputation (LEA), are common, costly, and preventable. Following a period of decline in incidence, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found the occurrence of diabetes-related LEA had rebounded an alarming 50% percent between 2009 and 2015.
By Lynn Soban, PhD, MPH, RN
Running-related overuse injuries are very common among recreational runners with the reported annual injury rates ranging from 39% to 85%. There are few large prospective cohort studies investigating injury risk associated with different running shoe characteristics and they are often contradictory. Our goal was to prospectively investigate the relationship between running shoe…
By Gary Helton, PT, DSc, SCS, OCS
Knee osteoarthritis (OA), a chronic progressive disease, is a common complaint in adults over age 45. Indeed, osteoarthritis is the most common joint disorder in many countries, affecting for example 13.9% of adults 25 years and older and 33.6% of people 65 years and older in the United States. The challenge for clinicians is the multifactorial nature of the disease and understanding the everyday mechanical factors that affect it.
Frailty is prevalent in all countries and is a leading contributor to functional decline and early mortality in older adults. The condition is defined as “a clinical state in which there is an increase in an individual’s vulnerability for developing an increased dependency and/or mortality when exposed to a stressor.” Frailty can begin before 65 years of age, but the onset escalates in those aged 70 years and over.
Industry News & Updates
Two people with transfemoral amputations have been able to feel their prosthetic foot and knee in real time via 4 intraneural sensors that connect to residual nerves in the thigh. The resulting neurofeedback reduces the physical and mental strain for prosthetic users and has been shown to reduce phantom limb pain.
Noridian, the Durable Medical Equipment (DME) Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) for Jurisdictions A and D, has updated its guidelines regarding use of the RA Modifier, which is to be used for replacement of a DME, orthotic, or prosthetic item.
A recent report by the US Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Inspector General determined that Medicare improperly paid suppliers for durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS) items provided during inpatient stays. Medicare should not pay a supplier for items furnished to a beneficiary when the beneficiary is still an inpatient.
The University of Wisconsin–Madison (UW–M) and a spinoff company, Imbed Biosciences, Fitchburg, WI, have received a $1.5 million, 2-year grant from the National Institutes of Health to test whether adding gallium metal ions to an ultra-thin material carrying antimicrobial silver can defeat the “biofilms” that shield bacteria from antibiotics.
