Category Archives: Feature Article
May 2019
Is Medical Cannabis an Appropriate Treatment for Joint Pain?
While many states have rushed to legalize cannabis, evidence for its medicinal use remains ‘paltry.’ However, physicians must be willing to talk with patients who want to use it. With medical and recreational cannabis legal across most of the United States and Canada, patients are turning to the drug as an alternative treatment for a wide range of ailments, including arthritis and other types of joint pain.
By Nicole Wetsman Continue reading
May 2019
EXCERPT: Do alterations in muscle strength, flexibility, range of motion, and alignment predict lower extremity injury in runners: a systematic review
Strategies for preventing running-related injury are lacking. These authors examine the evidence supporting use of musculoskeletal clinical assessments to predict runners at risk. Injury in runners is common, affecting 19.4 to 94.4% of runners annually.
By Shefali M. Christopher, Jeremy McCullough, Suzanne J. Snodgrass, and Chad Cook Continue reading
April 2019
Therapeutic Shoes Work for People with Diabetes. Why Doesn’t Every Patient Use Them?
Patients are unaware or reluctant, and some providers hesitate to engage in what can be a burdensome prescribing and procuring process—helping explain why uptake of this valuable preventative is disappointing. As allied healthcare professionals, we are, of course, acutely aware of the ever-growing diabetes epidemic in the United States.
By Erick Janisse, CO, CPED Continue reading
April 2019
Can Stabilization Training Help Minimize Risk of Injury in Adolescent Female Athletes?
5.5 million children and adolescents are injured playing sports annually. Most of these injuries are preventable, the CDC says. More than 30 million children and adolescents participate in organized sports in the United States; according to the Centers for the Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), that number is on the rise.
By Warren J. Potash Continue reading
April 2019
It’s Not Limb Salvage…It’s Life Salvage
New research invigorates arguments about limb salvage vs. more proximal amputations. A recent paper from researchers in Australia has reignited the ongoing debate about the relative merits of partial-foot versus transtibial amputations, particularly in diabetes patients.
By Cary Groner Continue reading
March 2019
Bone Stimulation Represents New Frontier for Optimizing Patient Outcomes
Limited research into electromagnetic and ultrasound bone stimulation devices complicates efforts to determine efficacy. For the majority of people, lower-limb fractures and fractures in other parts of the body heal well and reliably. However, some people experience complications that may cause significant harm.
By Nicole Wetsman Continue reading
March 2019
A REVIEW FOR LOWER-EXTREMITY SPECIALISTS: Mitigating the Opioid Crisis with Pain Management Regimens in a Multimodal Approach
For help limiting the number of opioid tablets you prescribe—and to still treat postop pain successfully—turn to practice guidelines, evidence from the literature about local and regional anesthesia techniques, and constraints of the law.
By Robert G. Smith, DPM, MSc, RPh, CPed, CPRS Continue reading
March 2019
Tape Use to Prevent Blisters: Does It Really Do What We Think It Does?
Taping is a mainstay of preventive foot blister management in athletes and active people. Its use is based on the premise that rubbing causes blisters, and that tape protects the skin from this rubbing and/or provides thermal insulation from the heat generated by rubbing.
By Rebecca Rushton, Bsc(Pod) Continue reading
March 2019
The Therapeutic Power of Elastic Bands
Here’s why resistance therapy with these low-tech tools is gaining prominence—for youth soccer players, geriatric patients, and everyone in between. Elastic resistance bands are increasingly popular in physical therapy as the modality is being used to treat a wide number of lower-extremity problems on a diverse patient population that covers everyone from youth sports players to seniors.
By Keith Loria Continue reading
February 2019
Conservative Management of Freiberg’s Disease
Key options include immobilization, weight bearing restrictions, NSAIDS, orthotics, padding, and shoe modifications. The first report of osteochondrosis of the second metatarsal head was in a series of six cases presented by Dr. Alfred H. Freiberg at the Southern Surgical and Gynecological Association in 1913. The data was published the following year.
By Kerry Sweet, DPM, FACFAS; Rebecca Omana-Daniels, DPM; and Valerie Marmolejo, DPM Continue reading
February 2019
Gait and Balance Dysfunction in Older Adults: Challenges and Interventions
Falls are a significant—yet preventable—health issue among older adults. Each year, 3 million older Americans over the age of 65 are treated in emergency departments for fall-related injuries which often result in disability, loss of independence, reduced quality of life, and death.1 The number of falls is expected to rise as Americans live longer and the number of older adults continues to grow at an unprecedented rate.
By Aisha Cobbs, PhD Continue reading
February 2019
Updated Beers Criteria for Potentially Inappropriate Medication Use in Older Adults Now Available
The 2019 AGS Beers Criteria® includes 5 lists of nearly 100 medications or medication classes to avoid or use with caution for some or all older adults. The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) recently unveiled its latest update to one of geriatrics’ most frequently cited reference tools: The AGS Beers Criteria® for Potentially Inappropriate… Continue reading
January 2019
Case: A Woman with Blistering, Erythema, and Scaling of the Feet
What’s causing the worsening signs and symptoms that are eroding the patient’s quality of life? Once that question is answered, what treatment should be pursued? In this case study, we describe the work-up and management of a woman whose illness was characterized by multiple vesicles and pustules and itching, scaling, and redness of the feet (as well as the hands), that progressed over months.
By Carla Benson, DPM Continue reading
January 2019
The Invisible Effect of Body Weight on Tendons
While the predominant view on the relationship between an elevated body weight and its effect on tendons, muscles, bones, and joints is grounded in the physical stress effects of body weight, the role of inflammation is becoming better understood.
By Robert Creighton, DPM Continue reading
January 2019
Dynamical Properties of Postural Control in Obese Community-Dwelling Older Adults
Does obesity affect balance and serve as an indicator of fall risk in this vulnerable population? The burden of obesity is rising at an alarming rate for older adults.
Excerpt By Thurmon E. Lockhart Continue reading
November 2018
Exploring Stability and Freedom with the GYROKINESIS® Method
New somatic practice uses repeated movements, breath awareness and rhythmic patterns to loosen joints and ease muscle tension. The GYROKINESIS® Method* is a unique form of somatic practice that is gaining popularity around the world. The Gyrokinesis Method promotes a holistic approach to health and well-being that could be useful to a variety of populations.
By Marianne Adams, MA, MFA Continue reading
November 2018
Stylish Prosthetic Limbs Boost Amputees’ Quality of Life
Aesthetic devices respond to emotional needs and can lead to “positive conversations”. In the early 1900s in the United Kingdom, the National Health Service considered glasses and spectacles medical devices—designed to be functional, but without any consideration of style and experience.1 As a result, said Stefania Sansoni, PhD, companies that made eyeglasses didn’t think about their appearance. “They were thinking about not attracting attention,” she said.
By Nicole Wetsman Continue reading
November 2018
National Biomechanics Day 2018: Opening Young Minds to a Burgeoning Field
National Biomechanics Day (NBD) 2018—April 11, 2018—continued building excitement for the field by engaging 11,000 young students across 150-plus sites around the globe. The home-grown events allow high school (and younger) students to experience first-hand a field that underlies orthopedics, exercise physiology science, physical therapy, and countless other fields that involve human movement and performance. Continue reading
November 2018
The PodPAD Project: A Podiatry-led Integrated Pathway for People with Peripheral Arterial Disease in the UK – a Pilot Study
Clinical evidence suggests that this intervention (foot care plus advice on diet, exercise & smoking) is highly effective at reducing the progression into acute care and can reduce the incidence of amputation by 60%.
By Lisa Farndon, John Stephenson, Oliver Binns-Hall, Kayleigh Knight, and Sally Fowler-Davis Continue reading
September 2018
Diabetes Self-Care Adherence: Whose Responsibility Is It? What’s a Clinician’s Role?
As an expert, specialist, trained foot and ankle physician, you have worked hard for your place in the medical landscape, your degree and your confidence. You think you do your job well, but what if you are not getting through to your patients to the extent you thought you were? Over the years, I have prided myself on being an educator.
By Richard Schilling, DPM, FACFAS Continue reading
September 2018
People with Diabetes Foot Complications Do Not Recall Their Education: A Cohort Study
Podiatrists play a large role in education for the prevention of foot complications in people with diabetes. Subsequently, podiatrists also regularly teach self-management strategies for people with or without foot complications relating to their diabetes. Current diabetes guidelines recommend education provision; however…
By Julia Yuncken, Cyclie M. Williams, Rene Stolwyk, Terry P. Haines Continue reading
September 2018
Pes Anserine Tendino-Bursitis: An Underdiagnosed Cause of Knee Pain in Middle-Aged and Older Patients
With an aging population that is increasingly overweight, a growing number of patients present to providers with a chief complaint of “knee pain.” Successful treatment of these individuals depends on making the correct diagnosis. Conventional thinking is that knee pain in middle-aged or older patients is due to the degeneration of the articular cartilage and/or the tearing of the menisci.
By Donald C. Pompan, MD Continue reading
September 2018
Barefoot Training Is Not Just for Barefoot Runners
On January 17, 2011, The New York Times published an article titled “Close Look at Orthotics Raises a Welter of Doubts.” Responding to the writing and research of Benno Nigg, it called into question much of the anecdotal information we provide to our patients when prescribing footwear and foot orthotics.
By William Smith, MSPT, C.Ped. Continue reading
September 2018
Advancements in Wound Healing Management
Skin trauma to the lower extremities—blisters, lacerations, incisions, and punctures—are common for those participating in athletic and recreational activities and are seen every day in clinical care settings. A foot ulcer, an open sore on the foot, is a more serious form of skin trauma or wound that occurs, often brought on in an environment compromised by diabetes or any…
By Keith Loria Continue reading
September 2018
Botox® Injection: Not Just for Celebrities’ Furrows and Wrinkles
When people hear the word “Botox,” their immediate associations might be with facial injection as an anti-wrinkle treatment or magazine gossip on the latest celebrity to suffer a “botch job” from one-too-many injections. Prior to the modern use of this acetylcholine-blocking neurotoxin, no one other than medical professionals who used it to treat their patients really knew what Botox is.
By Benn Jason Scott Boshell, MSc, BSc (Hons) Continue reading
