Lower Extremity Review
Gait speeds less than .6 m/s, a threshold that has been recommended as an indicator of mobility-related health problems, also confer a significantly increased risk of two-year mortality in hospitalized older patients, according to a recent prospective study.
In children with cerebral palsy (CP), gait impairment has a moderate relationship with daily step count and high daily activity levels, according to research from the University of Auckland in Australia.
Step width (SW), step length (SL), and a ratio of the two variables may help predict falls and fall-related injuries in older adults with and without diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN), according to research from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
After a season in which too many of its most marketable stars spent too much time in street clothes, the National Basketball Association (NBA) is making a commitment to injury prevention. Interesting, however…
By Jordana Bieze Foster, Editor
Another year has passed, filled with new and exciting developments for LER. With all the growth that we have experienced in the past year, it was necessary to expand our editorial team with promotions to Emily Delzell and P.K. Daniel, who are now senior editor and associate editor, respectively.
By Richard Dubin
Convincing patients with diabetes to wear their prescribed footwear presents a challenge, but experts agree that encouraging patient compliance requires lower extremity clinicians to look beyond the disease and gain insight into the person being treated.
By Shalmali Pal
A growing body of research on metatarsal stress fractures is helping lower extremity practitioners manage both the biomechanical and physiological effects of these frustrating injuries, as well as the expectations of patients who are eager to return to activity.
By Erin Boutwell
The question of when or if it’s safe for patients to drive after surgery or while wearing a lower extremity orthotic device is one practitioners should address. But, in the absence of formal guidelines, clinicians’ advice is often inconsistent.
By Hank Black
The mixed findings of several cross-sectional studies seem to suggest that no specific biomechanical variables are unequivocally associated with iliotibial band syndrome in either men or women, which underscores the importance of assessing each patient individually
By Eric Foch, PhD
Offloading was a hot topic at the recent meeting of the International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot in the Netherlands. Diabetic foot experts in attendance discussed new research on offloading strategies and updated the organization’s practice recommendations.
By Cary Groner
Traditionally, anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction outcomes have been assessed preoperatively and several months postoperatively, but new research suggests the early postoperative stages of recovery may also significantly affect self-reported outcomes.
By Caitlin J. Miller, PT, DPT, and Jesse C. Christensen, PT, DPT, SCS
A shift in tone was apparent at this year’s Ortho Technology Forum (OTF), and not just because the focus of the event has been expanded to include design and manufacturing technologies for footwear as well as foot orthoses…
Much of the discussion at the 2015 Ortho Technology Forum (OTF) focused on various ways in which the future of the orthotic industry will require adapting to new technologies. But the event’s final presenter challenged…
Ottobock is the exclusive distributor of the new EMS (Environmentally Managed System) socket system developed by Carl Caspers, CPO. The EMS technology is fully compatible with the Harmony vacuum system Caspers developed and…
The new MVN Biomech wearable 3D motion system from Xsens is made up of small, lightweight tracking units that communicate wirelessly to a personal computer. These trackers can either be integrated into a Lycra suit…
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