Lower Extremity Review
Natural materials like bone, bird feathers, and wood have an intelligent approach to physical stress distribution, despite their irregular architectures. However, the relationship between stress modulation and their structures has remained elusive. A new study that integrates machine learning, optimization, 3D printing, and stress experiments allowed engineers to gain insight into these…
People with chronic diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) could soon have a new way to treat their wounds for faster healing and fewer hospital stays. Researchers from Michigan State University (MSU) and South Shore Hospital in South Weymouth, Massachusetts, have found that the combination of 2 common diabetes drugs—injectable insulin and orally-administered metformin—increases the amount of…
TWIN is a new robotic exoskeleton for lower limbs, designed and developed by Rehab Technologies IIT – INAIL, the joint laboratory between the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT, Italian Institute of Technology) and the Prosthetic Center of INAIL (the prosthetic unit of the National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work). The motorized exoskeleton is an external structure capable of…
John Horne lost his right leg to bone cancer when he was a freshman in high school. This personal experience spawned his career and passion for advocating for those with limb loss. The president of Independence Prosthetics-Orthotics on the University of Delaware’s (UD) Science, Technology, and Advanced Research (STAR) Campus has seen prostheses improve significantly since…
Waco Shoe Company recently introduced the Revitalign® Elevated Essentials collection, which features the Laurel, Malibu penny, and Maple Mary Jane loafers, each designed to seamlessly blend style with orthotic-grade support. This loafer collection is more than a fashion statement—it’s a step forward in comfort technology.
DonJoy® ROAM™ OA knee brace was designed to unload the pressure of unicompartmental osteoarthritis (OA) and shift weight away from the affected knee to relieve pain and improve stability and mobility. Designed for conservative care and for pre- and post-operative knee protection, the brace is ideal for a wide range of patients who want to maintain or increase activity.
Whether it’s cracked heels, dry feet, or dry hands, Dermatonics Dry Skin Cream is clinically proven to nourish skin back to health while providing a barrier to lock in moisture so skin stays soft. All Dermatonics products contain natural ingredients such as Manuka honey, shea butter, and Finnish oats, as well as ingredients scientifically proven to soften skin, such as urea.
The Wound Express advanced wound therapy device is designed to be used in conjunction with standard treatment techniques and has been shown to significantly reduce the size of both hard-to-heal wounds of venous and mixed etiology in some patients, and other wounds completely in just 8 weeks of use. This device uses intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) to increase blood flow around the leg ulcer.
An interdisciplinary team of medical specialists, engineers, and computer scientists at Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany, are developing smart implants that can continuously monitor and actively promote bone healing—by, for example, micro-massaging the fracture site. The team of engineers led by Stefan Seelecke, Prof. Dr.-Ing., iMSL, chair of intelligent material systems and…
In 2022, a report in the International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy found that college athletes who suffered a concussion possessed a 58% greater risk of sustaining a lower extremity musculoskeletal injury than those who did not have a history of concussion (RR = 1.58[1.30, 1.93]). Now, a new study by Gardner et al reports that for college male football players the odds of upper extremity injury in the…
An easy-to-use and reliable tool is essential for gait assessment of people with gait pathologies. This study aimed to assess the reliability and validity of the OneStep smartphone application compared to the C-Mill-VR+ treadmill (Motek, Nederlands) among patients undergoing rehabilitation for unilateral lower extremity disability.
Although footwear can improve pain and function in individuals with knee osteoarthritis (OA), perspectives about footwear in this population have not been explored. This qualitative study explored preferences, attitudes and beliefs about footwear in adults with knee OA.
Shoes affect the evolved biomechanics of the foot, potentially affecting running kinematics and kinetics that can in turn influence injury and performance. An important feature of conventional running shoes is heel height, whose effects on foot and ankle biomechanics remain understudied. Here, we investigate the effects of 6–26 mm increases in heel height on ankle dynamics in 8 rearfoot strike runners who ran…
Microvascular permeability in diabetic muscle was investigated using our original 2-photon scanning laser microscopy method. Compared with controls, the leakage volume was increased in diabetic muscle, which was atrophic with smaller capillary diameter, endothelial cell thickening, and the appearance of more endothelial intercellular gaps or clefts, and large vesicles.
As the population of those age 80+ increases, surgeries for femur fractures will rise as well. A new 2-year retrospective cohort study in 479 patients (mean age 86 years) looked at the incidence and risk factors for common postoperative pulmonary complications—pneumonia, atelectasis, pulmonary edema, pleural effusion, and venous thromboembolism (VTE), as well as respiratory failure and 9-day mortality form a single hospital.
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