Lower Extremity Review
The New York, NY-based National Basketball Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association (NBSCA) in October announced it would form a scientific advisory panel of four experts from various fields within the strength and conditioning community to provide continuing education and sharing of best practices to its members.
Reykjavik, Iceland-based Össur reported in October that amputees wearing its technologies dominated the lower limb competition at the inaugural Cybathlon games in Zurich, Switzerland, claiming all three medals in the leg prosthesis race. The Cybathlon is the first global competition…
Orchard Park, NY-based Curbell Plastics in October named Airlite Plastics its 2015 Vendor of the Year. Omaha, NE-based Airlite makes plastic packaging as well as a variety of extruded plastic sheet materials for the O&P industry.
Lake Placid, FL-based Phoenix Molded Shoes, Inserts, and Braces opened its doors on September 12. The manufacturer is emphasizing communication with its practitioner customers about its services and lower extremity custom devices, which include accommodative and functional orthoses.
Multiple studies suggest that mouthguards, designed to protect athletes from dental injuries during contact sports, may also help improve muscle force and power. But plenty of other studies have found no such benefits, and even the experts aren’t sure what to believe.
By Cary Groner
Although not as common as Achilles tendinitis, peroneal tendinitis is seen in a certain group of patients with chronic ankle instability or with a cavovarus foot.1 Peroneal tendinitis presents as lateral foot pain and may also be of unknown etiology or associated with an acute inversion injury.
By Patricia Pande, MClScPT, CSCS, CPed
Decisions related to the stiffness of an ankle foot orthosis (AFO)—whether they involve device design or the materials from which it’s fabricated—can help lower extremity clinicians customize stability, biomechanics, and muscle function to meet individual patients’ needs.
By Lori Roniger
Professional football players are enduring higher levels of force than ever, and foot and ankle injury rates are increasing as a result. Advances in surgery and rehabilitation have helped get players back on the field more quickly, but injury prevention remains a significant challenge.
By Will Carroll
Altered biomechanics after ankle arthrodesis often increase stress on the adjacent joints in the foot, which can cause or exacerbate osteoarthritic degeneration in those joints. Clinicians and researchers are working to better understand this process and how to minimize patients’ risk.
By Cary Groner
The ability to identify and treat patients at risk for mental health issues after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury may help improve psychological readiness for reconstructive surgery, attitudes toward postoperative rehabilitation, and successful surgical and rehabilitation outcomes.
By John Reaume, MD, MHSA; Dana Reaume, PsyD; and Melissa A. Christino, MD
Women with iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS) independently modify their running gait when fatigued to decrease hip adduction, potentially as a result of pain, according to research from Rutgers University in Newark, NJ, that may have implications for gait retraining.
By Katie Bell
Trained long distance runners have a higher step rate and a shorter step length during running than untrained participants—characteristics that may represent adaptations to reduce injury and improve running economy, according to research from Spain.
By Jordana Bieze Foster
Chronic ankle instability (CAI) is associated with altered vertical ground reaction forces (vGRF) and loading rates during running, which may be related to altered landing patterns designed to protect the ankle joint, according to research from Indiana University in Bloomington.
By Jordana Bieze Foster
The problematic trend of physiological studies in which young women are underrepresented now extends to research on blood flow restriction (BFR) training, according to a paper epublished in October by Clinical Physiology and Functional Imaging.
By Cary Groner
Foot-focused progressive resistance training helps improve toe flexor strength and balance in older adults, which may help reduce the risk of falls, according to research from the University of Wollongong in Australia.
By Jordana Bieze Foster
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