Lower Extremity Review
Donating parts, funds aids efforts – Each year, Dino Scanio, CO, LO, and his five-member team of pediatric O&P specialists arrive in Guatemala City to perform a challenging task. In just four days in their most recent clinic in August, for example, they fit nearly 50 young patients with custom devices and…
By Brigid Galloway
Prevention requires team approach – The inclusion of physicians, including specialists in pediatric orthopedic surgery and sports or dance medicine, in a team with teachers, physical therapists, parents, and others could help identify and prevent injuries in growing young dancers, according to…
By Hank Black
Regular foot checks may curb problems – A recent study published in the Journal of Foot and Ankle Research found that hallux valgus and too-narrow footwear contribute to foot-specific disability in children with Down syndrome. Interestingly, the study found foot posture wasn’t associated with foot-specific disability in the same children.
By Erin Boutwell
The most public battles about barefoot running and minimalist footwear have been fought over their use by adult athletes and the clinicians who treat them. There is, however, a separate discussion underway regarding barefoot and minimally shod running in children.
By Cary Groner
Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) affects nearly a quarter of a million US kids younger than 16 years. The hallmarks of the autoimmune disorder include joint inflammation, stiffening, and damage, as well as changes in joint growth, all of which can prove painful.
By Shalmali Pal
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
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