Lower Extremity Review
Four years later, the ongoing discussion of the relative merits of surgical and nonsurgical management of Achilles tendon rupture is starting to affect practice patterns – even in the US.
By Cary Groner
Researchers at the University of Delaware in Newark are using a new ultrasound-based technique to better understand the effects of rehabilitation on the Achilles tendon, which could help optimize rehab protocols to improve long-term function.
By Cary Groner
A meniscal injury gave one practitioner new insight into the patient experience and renewed his belief that healing isn’t just about what happens physically.
By Cary Groner
Although milder than the spasticity-induced cases of equinus, limited ankle dorsiflexion in the non-neurological population is increasingly recognized as a source of excessive strain throughout the foot and a factor in the pathogenesis of many foot conditions.
By Nicholas V. DiMassa and Jeffrey M. Whitaker DPM, FACFAS
Recent analyses cautiously recommend the short-term adjunctive use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) for diabetic foot ulcer healing under certain conditions, but in the absence of high-quality clinical trials, experts continue to debate the controversial therapy’s benefits.
By Hank Black
Using muscle function symmetry as an indicator of patient progress after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction can provide insight about potential targets for intervention to improve movement quality, functional performance, and patient outcomes.
By Christopher Kuenze, PhD, ATC; and Adam Kelly, MS, ATC
Vitamin D deficiency is prevalent in patients in the northern US undergoing midfoot, hindfoot, and ankle arthrodesis, even in those without predisposing risk factors, according to a recent study from Vermont that may have implications for lower extremity surgery.
By Katie Bell
The development of bone marrow edema after transitioning from traditional running shoes to minimalist footwear is associated with small intrinsic foot muscle size, according to research from Brigham Young University in Provo, UT.
By Jordana Bieze Foster
A half shoe offloads the forefoot more effectively than a double-rocker full-outsole shoe with an offloading insole, but the half shoe also is more likely to alter gait, according to research from Bologna, Italy.
By Jordana Bieze Foster
Gait training is effective for improving limited mobility in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA), according to a recent study, but the immediate benefit is not sustained after training has stopped.
By Lori Roniger
Given that existing therapies for intermittent claudication are not appropriate for all patients, researchers are working to develop new therapies focused on improving patients’ ability to compensate for a vascular occlusion by expanding collateral artery pathways.
By Steven J. Miller, PhD; A. George Akingba, MD, PhD; and Joseph L. Unthank, PhD
Although knee adduction moment (KAM) plays a significant role in patients with severe knee osteoarthritis (OA), knee flexion moment (KFM) may be more important early in the disease process, according to research from Stanford University in California.
By Jordana Bieze Foster
Patient-reported function and lower extremity kinematics can predict response to a hip strengthening intervention in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA), according to research from the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada.
By Jordana Bieze Foster
Despite evidence of significant lower extremity injury risks associated with ice hockey, even at youth levels, preventing those types of injuries has never been a priority in that sport. But that may be starting to change.
Jordana Bieze Foster, Editor
The White House announced on November 2 that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will not finalize a controversial draft policy concerning coverage determinations for lower limb prostheses.
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