Patellofemoral pain is a common condition among adolescents, with nearly 7% of the today’s adolescent population affected.¹ It’s a particular burden for girls—it affects as many as 10% of adolescent female athletes², and the pain likely shuts them out of sports at a similar rate to…

By Nicole Wetsman

This randomized controlled study evaluated the efficacy of slip-simulating reactive balance training compared to conventional balance training in regard to falls prevention.

By Anne Krause, Kathrin Freyler, Albert Gollhofer, Thomas Stocker, Uli Brüderlin, Ralf Colin, Harald Töpfer, and Ramona Ritzmann

Research suggests that a simple step-down task has a strong relationship with frontal plane ankle kinematics during walking and jump landing, and may be one method of screening or assessing for increased inversion—and, in turn, increased risk of future ankle sprain—in clinical settings.

By Luke Donovan, PhD, ATC; and Mark A. Feger, PhD, ATC

At a symposium in Cape Town, South Africa, an orthotist demonstrated his technique for treating balance issues in patients with peripheral neuropathy using ankle foot orthoses (AFOs), and a team of researchers theorized about evidence-based concepts that could help explain his findings.

By Cary Groner

Factors related to joint loading during running contribute to the development of stress fractures in the femoral neck and other lower extremity structures. Research suggests these loading parameters can be reduced by altering running foot strike pattern, stride length, speed, and step rate.

By Mark Riebel, PT, DSc, OCS, SCS

Clinical prediction rules (CPRs) are intended to improve patient care, but critics have suggested that—for a number of reasons—the opposite may be true. Lower extremity experts interviewed by are in agreement that, ultimately, even the best CPRs should be only one piece of the clinical puzzle.

By Cary Groner