Lower Extremity Review
One side claims running shoes cause injury; the other side counters that barefoot running comes with its own risks. There are likely elements of truth on both sides. But when it comes to giving your patients advice about barefoot running, experts have more questions than answers.
by Cary Groner
Benno Nigg, PhD, isn’t exactly on the barefoot running bandwagon. Essentially, the internationally lauded foot biomechanist thinks barefoot running is a fashion trend that tends to recur every 25 years or so — like babydoll dresses or skinny ties.
Jordana Bieze Foster, Editor
With so many factors outside of the control of practitioners and practice managers, it’s becoming increasingly important to focus energy and resources on the areas that are well within your ability to influence.
By Jason Kraus
Patients with diabetes who have undergone partial foot amputation are vulnerable to reulceration. Footwear, orthotic devices, and partial foot prostheses can reduce risk while improving function.
By Erick Janisse, CPed, CO, and Dennis Janisse, CPed
Yoga can help improve balance and increase confidence in older adults who are at risk for fall-related injury. The key to successful outcomes is to modify traditional poses in ways that accommodate both physical limitations and fears in this patient population.
By Arlene Schmid, PhD, OTR
Successful management of articular cartilage lesions starts with a thorough examination emphasizing patient history, range of motion limitations, and an understanding of underlying anatomy and biomechanics.
By Walter L. Jenkins, PT, DHS, ATC
Patients with diabetes are at increased risk for delayed union or nonunion following skeletal trauma or elective orthopedic surgery, due to impaired osseous regeneration.
By David N. Paglia MS, Siddhant K. Mehta BS, Kristen Mason BS, Eric A. Breitbart MD, Aaron Wey BS, Andrew Park MS, Swaroopa Vaidya MS, Ravi Verma BS, Dana Graves PhD, J. Patrick O’Connor PhD, and Sheldon S. Lin MD
Despite research supporting the use of therapeutic shoes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, a study from New Zealand suggests that only 5% of patients actually wear prescribed footwear.
The lack of compliance may be related to practitioners’ failure to understand the social and emotional implications of therapeutic footwear for patients—particularly women—with RA, according to a second study from the U.K.
By Jordana Bieze Foster
A high-top athletic shoe design and tightly tied laces can decrease peak Achilles tendon loading, primarily by limiting peak ankle dorsiflexion, according to a cadaver study from Virginia Tech University. Researchers analyzed the effects of low-top vs high-top...
The variable-stiffness shoe being developed at Stanford University not only reduces external knee adduction moment but also produces corresponding decreases in load within the joint, according to new in vivo data. The shoe (see “OA research: It’s all about the...
Research from Stanford University adds to the evidence that patellofemoral pain management may be most effective when tailored to subcategories of patients, and suggests that it’s too soon to give up on vastus medialis oblique activation as a contributing factor.
The findings were presented in early November at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation.
By Jordana Bieze Foster
The benefits of platelet-rich plasma injection for relief of tendinopathy pain are evident outside of a controlled research setting, according to results from a Scottsdale, AZ, private practice presented in November at the AAPM&R meeting. Physiatrists at Southwest...
Fascial manipulation can improve pain and postural stability in patients with functional ankle instability and evidence of retinacular changes on magnetic resonance imaging, according to research from Italy presented in November at the AAPM&R meeting. In an...
The American Board for Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics and Pedorthics (ABC) is pleased to announce the reinstatement of its Certified Orthotic/Prosthetic Assistant certification program. Certified assistants, under the supervision of an ABC certified orthotist...
Cali Overcast of Fountain, CO, was only four years old when the 9/11 terrorist attacks took place, but she’s never forgotten the impact it had on her young life. Overcast, winner of Minneapolis, MN-based Otto Bock’s Socket Art Contest, was born with a type of dwarfism...
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