Lower Extremity Review
Those responsible for high school athletes—coaches, athletic directors, district superintendents—would like us to believe the safety of those athletes is a priority. Unfortunately, the facts suggest otherwise.
Jordana Bieze Foster, Editor
Despite published evidence that bracing and targeted exercises can prevent ankle injuries in high school basketball players, surprisingly few teams have adopted these practices. Barriers to implementation include a lack of awareness and expertise as well as time and money.
By P.K. Daniel
To sustain is to endure. Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a considerable worldwide health concern, as it greatly impacts an individual’s quality of life, general health, and societal role participation.
By John Nyland, DPT, SCS, EdD, ATC, CSCS, FACSM, David N.M. Caborn, MD, and Roland Jakob, MD
Adding four functional tests to the preparticipation physical evaluations performed in student athletes may allow clinicians to identify individuals at risk for lower extremity musculoskeletal injury and implement preventive interventions to maximize safety in sports participation.
By Alexis Meister, BS, ATC; Dustin Grooms, MEd, ATC, CSCS; Cambrie Starkel, MS; and James Onate, PhD, ATC, FNATA
Existing data suggest bariatric surgery-induced weight loss can lead to rapid improvements in gait and physical function. The surgery may also help to address factors associated with knee osteoarthritis, which itself can affect mobility and function in obese patients.
By Andrew W. Froehle, PhD, Neal Dollin, MS, Richard T. Laughlin, MD, Donovan D. Teel II, MD, Richard J. Sherwood, PhD, and Dana L. Duren, PhD
Because power in baseball pitchers is generated from the feet through the core to the throwing arm, the study of stride length and its impact on pitching performance may help define an optimum technique that better protects pitchers from upper extremity injuries.
By Ryan L. Crotin, PhD, and Dan K. Ramsey, PhD
The body of research that has evaluated running shoe prescription and injury suggests the most important factors to consider when selecting a running shoe are that it fits the foot perfectly and that the midsole is comfortable and appropriate for the individual athlete’s running style.
By Thomas C. Michaud, DC
Brace wear time, not torque, is key – Dynamic orthoses offer an effective alternative to static devices for management of tip-toe gait and knee flexion contracture in children with cerebral palsy (CP), particularly because the dynamic devices are associated with greater compliance, according to separate studies from Sweden and France.
A Taiwanese study offers more evidence that offloading knee braces and wedged foot orthoses are both associated with significant biomechanical improvements in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA).
A rocker bar proximally positioned on a running shoe can relieve tension on the Achilles tendon as well as reduce the force required of the calf muscles during walking and slow running, according to research from the Netherlands.
Swedes also find low ulceration rate – Research from Sweden and Egypt provides more evidence that foot orthoses can significantly decrease plantar pressures in patients with diabetes, theoretically reducing the risk of foot ulcers and lower extremity amputation.
Orthotic management of pediatric talipes planovalgus starting at an early age is associated with significant improvement in weightbearing arch structure, according to research from Saga University in Japan.
Tibial inclination appears significant – Orthotic walkers have significant effects on proximal joint mechanics during gait, the extent of which appear to depend on individual device design, according to research from the University of Central Lancashire in the UK.
What appears to be idiopathic scoliosis may actually be functional scoliosis that can be effectively treated with foot orthoses in children who are hyperpronators, according to research from Chungnam National University in Daejeon, South Korea.
Functional balance test scores rise – Use of an ankle foot orthosis (AFO) within six weeks of stroke results in better balance outcomes and earlier independent ambulation than if AFO use is delayed, according to research from the Netherlands.
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