Lower Extremity Review
Research suggests that balance exercises can help decrease injury risk and improve performance, particularly in female athletes. But balance training technique can significantly influence results.
By Gretchen D. Oliver, PhD, ATC, LAT
The assessment test—which focuses on heel counter firmness, torsional control, and flexibility—can help in selecting a shoe that will be biomechanically effective as well as comfortable.
By Bruce E. Williams, DPM
Only two-thirds of NFL skill players ever come back, and those who do find their performance significantly affected. But a prodromal period may offer opportunities for early intervention.
By Khalid Shirzad, MD; John D. Hewitt, MD; Carter Kiesau, MD; and Selene G. Parekh, MD, MBA
The improved outcomes seen with early ambulation go beyond gait and function. Because independence is so closely tied to mortality, proper rehab may also help patients live longer.
By Paula Richley Geigle, PT, PhD, Karen Lynn Gordes, PT, DScPT, Kimberly Dodson, and Gene Shirokobrod
The closer foot posture measures get to describing the medial longitudinal arch and plantar vault, the more applicable they are to the dynamic gait cycle.
By Stu Currie, DC; Don Bursch, PT, OCS; and Ed Glaser, DPM
An evidence-based exercise regimen, designed to enhance knee strength and the ability to complete functional tasks, may speed recovery following total knee arthroplasty in patients with knee OA.
By Kent Brown, MS, CSCS; Joseph A. Brosky Jr., PT, MS, SCS; Dave Pariser, PT, PhD; and Robert Topp, RN, PhD
This three-step approach, based on a vertical alignment axis, offers a low-tech alternative for prosthetic alignment in developing nations, but also has applications in developed countries as
a simple clinical test to identify gait deviations.
By Yeongchi Wu, MD
Orthotic and prosthetic intervention for partial foot amputation is intended to restore the effective foot length and normalize gait and function. Research is only beginning to examine whether current interventions are up to the challenge.
By Michael P. Dillon, BP&O (Hons.), PhD
Tactics borrowed from the advertising world could be just what is needed to effectively communicate the risks of foot ulcers and amputation to patients with diabetes and improve outcomes as a result.
By Jeffrey M. Robbins, DPM, Gerald Strauss, PhD, and Jennifer Regler, DPM
Research suggests that individuals with chronic ankle instability are also likely to have impaired neuromuscular function at the knee and hip – findings that could change your approach to preventing recurrent ankle sprains.
By Phillip A. Gribble, PhD, ATC
A high school forward rebounds the basketball, as she has thousands of times before. She lands with a flat foot, extended knee, and torso leaning awkwardly sideways, as her knee buckles inward. An audible pop is heard and felt as the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her knee tears and ends her season, compromising her hopes of a college scholarship and perhaps even her expectation of a long, active, and healthy life.
by Timothy E. Hewett, PhD
Positive physician-patient relationships are critical to the healing process and have been shown to directly impact clinical results. By Jason Kraus
If the knee loads generated during a golf swing are enough to take down Tiger Woods, should it really be considered a low-impact sport? By Judy A. Blake, BA, Nikolai Steklov, BA, Shantanu Patil, MD, Clifford W. Colwell Jr., MD, and Darryl D. D’Lima, MD, PhD
Controlled stress would seem to be the ideal environment for orthotic management of PTTD. How could that be accomplished? By Frank Caruso, CO
It’s popular with professional athletes and Hollywood celebrities. But WBV also has very real clinical potential for patients with neurological disorders. By Kurt Jackson, PT, PhD, GCS and Harold Merriman, PT, PhD, CLT
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