Assessing how foot problems— namely, pain, neuropathy, and deformity— contribute to frailty syndrome has been a challenge for researchers, as transporting frail elders to lab facilities creates its own set of issues. But a recent study from the University of Arizona used wearable sensors to assess the seniors in their “natural” environment and found significant relationships between the number of foot problems and degree of frailty.

In a pre-specified, 3-year extension of a randomized clinical trial of equivalence, close-contact casting maintained equivalence in function compared to surgery in older adults with unstable ankle fracture. Furthermore, no significant differences were reported in quality of life or pain. The authors concluded that the focus of treatment for these patients should be on obtaining and maintaining reduction until union, using the most conservative means possible.

Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes are known for their life-threatening complications—in particular, blindness from retinopathy, kidney failure, and peripheral neuropathy. For patients with diabetes and foot pathology, amputation is a significant worry. A recent study in Foot & Ankle Specialist sought to understand just how much this population fears lower-extremity amputation (LEA).

As summer approaches and we become more active outdoors, wasps will become more active, too. Two recent studies highlight the pain and danger of the ubiquitous wasp. The first study, from entomologists at the University of Utah, looked at stinger length compared to reported pain and toxicity.¹

Many have long suspected the answer, but a new study would appear to resolve the question: Are flip flops really that bad for your feet? According to Chen and colleagues from the Department of Biomedical Engineering at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, flip flops are most likely no better than barefoot when it comes to lower-limb co-contraction and joint contact force in the ankle.