Lower Extremity Review
Some of us remember the days when there was virtually no need for marketing healthcare practices. All that was required was hard work, well-developed skills, and a shingle out front. Word of mouth was the primary method for growing practices, and any overt messaging was considered unethical. In fact, there were regulations specifically preventing physicians from advertising themselves. It was a simpler time with far less competition for patients and referrals.
By Jason Kraus
At the Palo Alto Foundation Medical Group, rehabilitation following operative repair of Achilles tendon ruptures is based on three key evidence-based criteria for return to activity and selective use of an anti-gravity treadmill to accelerate that return.
By Amol Saxena, DPM, FACFAS
Outcomes of revascularization in patients with lower extremity critical limb ischemia should be defined according to patient goals and functional criteria rather than more traditional, physician-oriented variables such as limb salvage and graft patency.
By Ginger L. Manos, MD, John W. York, MD, FACS, and Brent L. Johnson, MS
In the surgical management of ankle fractures, post-traumatic arthritis is the outcome that practitioners and patients would most like to avoid. But given the sensitivity of joint cartilage to even the slightest malalignment or pressure shift, that can be easier said than done.
By Cary Groner
Amputees lack the lower extremity muscles responsible for maintaining kinematic stability under increasing load carriage conditions, and would benefit from a more versatile prosthetic foot design that could adapt dynamically to changing loads.
By Kurt Collier, CP
In sports, the concept of “affordance perception” can mean sensing an opponent’s next move, which has implications not just for performance but also for reducing injury risk. An understanding of affordance perception also can improve the effectiveness of training.
By Julie A. Weast-Knapp, MA, and Kevin Shockley, PhD
Long-term compliance data raise issues
A study published in the August issue of Orthopedics found that although unloader braces effectively relieve pain and improve function in patients with unicompartmental knee osteoarthritis, many patients stop wearing the devices after a few years and opt for total knee replacement.
By Emily Delzell
The critical factor affecting compliance with the orthotic aspect of Ponseti clubfoot therapy—and its success—appears to be complexity of the therapy, not parents’ education and income levels, according to research published in the September issue of the Journal of...
Although patients with drop foot show an overall preference for functional electrical stimulation over ankle foot orthoses, individuals familiar with both therapies recognize the benefits and drawbacks of the two modalities, according to research published in the...
Shoe effects on tibial rotation vary
Research from the U.K. published this month suggests that motion control running shoe technology can help decrease tibial internal rotation during running, theoretically decreasing the risk of proximal symptoms such as those associated with iliotibial band syndrome or patellofemoral pain syndrome.
By Jordana Bieze Foster
The positive effects of a training program on adductor-related groin pain are still evident up to 12 years later, according to a Danish study. Researchers from Copenhagen University Hospital in Amager, Denmark, assessed the long-term effects of training eight to 12...
Two recent studies cast doubt on the merits of whole body vibration training, as either a replacement or an adjunct to conventional training, for improving jump performance. Researchers from Springfield College in Massachusetts found that WBV training and conventional...
Risks involve mechanics, not just chance
Pregnancy changes gait and balance, and in ways that increase the risk of falling in certain women. Research suggests falls aren’t caused by environmental differences and that exercise confers a protective effect, according to investigators from West Virginia University in Morgantown, whose most recent data appeared in the August issue of Gait & Posture.
By Emily Delzell
Type 2 diabetes results in less efficient gait mechanics well before patients develop frank neuropathy and other threats to mobility, according to research in the August issue of Gait & Posture. Investigators for the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, an...
Among patients who sustain a hip fracture, those who can improve 6-meter-walking time by more than one second a day achieve greater functional independence than those who improve more slowly, according to research from the Beit Rivka Geriatric Rehabilitation Center in...
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