Lower Extremity Review
PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) testing is a transformative innovation in diagnosing nail and skin disorders within podiatry. Introduced for podiatric medicine about 15 years ago, PCR enables the rapid amplification of specific DNA sequences, making it a powerful tool for identifying fungal and bacterial infectious agents that cause various dermatological conditions.
By William P. Scherer, DPM, MS
Over the last 15 years, the foot and ankle landscape has witnessed a seismic shift marked by ingenious solutions that have transformed surgical techniques, introduced a new breed of innovative products, and reshaped patient recovery. Close collaboration with surgeon partners has been key in the development of multiple innovations.
By Gary Justak
Prescription orthotics have always been a crucial part of my sports podiatry practice. Athletes of all sports, levels, and ages expect comfort and positive results with their foot, ankle, knee, and postural problems from using their orthotics. Let’s also include enhanced performance among those benefits.
By Robert Weil, DPM
The utility of supplemental oxygen to support wound healing has been well-documented in the literature. Following injury, poor blood circulation, edema, injured microcirculation, and contraction of vessels in traumatized tissue limit oxygen distribution to a wound, thereby reducing the wound’s capacity to heal.
By Windy Cole, DPM, CWSP
As a board-certified cardiovascular surgeon specializing in venous and lymphatic disease, I firmly believe that the introduction of micronized purified flavonoid fraction (MPFF) into the U.S. market represents perhaps the most important innovation in daily practice we’ve seen in the last 10 years.
By John Chubak, MD, FACS
In the past 15 years, lower extremity healthcare has seen numerous innovative products that have improved patient outcomes. Determining which product has had the greatest impact is debatable, but 3-dimensional (3D) printed technologies stand out. These include non-customized implants, custom implants, patient-specific instruments and cut guides, and anatomic biomodels.
By Patrick DeHeer, DPM
Smartphones have revolutionized clinical practice through enhancement of communication with colleagues and patients, information access, and workflow efficiency for healthcare providers. With the continuous evolution of technology, smartphones have increasingly been used for assessing gait—providing a convenient and accessible way to monitor mobility, balance, and walking patterns.
By Sarah A. Curran, PhD
11 Readers offer their thoughts on the greatest innovations of the last 15 years. The dictionary defines innovation as the introduction or use of new ideas or ways of doing things. But it’s really much more than that: In What Customers Want, innovation expert Anthony Ulwick wrote, “Innovation is not the result of thinking differently. It is the result of thinking deliberately (in specific ways) about existing problems and unmet needs.” Others have added that innovation is a corporate mindset of continuous quality improvement that encourages improving processes or revising products in response to customer needs.
Posterior malleolus fractures have been associated with ankle instability because the ligament pull that follows such fractures can lead to movement of the fracture fragment and consequently disrupt the weight-bearing surface’s integrity. Falls are a multifactorial phenomenon and a cause of increasing rates of mortality and morbidity in older adults, and are significant contributors to disability or early institutionalization.
By Alex Rizzato, Matteo Bozzato, Luca Rotundo, Giuseppe Zullo, Giuseppe De Vito, Antonio Paoli, and Giuseppe Marcolin
Background: Ninety-seven percent of people in the United States (US) own a cell phone. Consequently, millions of people are at risk of cell phone-related injury, including when using or carrying a cell phone while walking. This study described cell phone-related lower extremity injuries while walking that were treated at US hospital emergency departments (EDs).
By Mathias B. Forrester, BS
These study findings suggest you can improve patient trust and satisfaction with telehealth visits by minding your video background. The COVID-19 pandemic prompted rapid adoption of telemedicine. Most physicians had no training on effective webside manner, including their physical environment.
By Nathan Houchens, MD; Sanjay Saint,MD, MPH; Latoya Kuhn, MPH; David Ratz, MS; Jason M. Engle, MPH; Jennifer Meddings, MD, MSc
Most people don’t have to think about walking—they just walk. But for those of us living with foot drop, walking requires focus because we know from experience how just 1 distracted step can quickly manifest into a painful fall. Foot drop, also known as drop foot, is a condition characterized by difficulty or inability to lift the front part of the foot. It is typically caused by weakness or paralysis of the muscles responsible for lifting the foot, often due to nerve damage or injury.
By Lainie Ishbia, MSW
Innovation comes in many flavors and knocks on your door in many ways. Sometimes it looks like a great idea, and other times, you want to slam that door immediately. But then, you often want to take a peak. That’s true for some of our readers who took the challenge to write on what they thought the greatest innovation has been over the last 15 years. Why 15 years?
By Janice T. Radak, Editor
Everyday clothing may soon be able to capture and record body movements according to new research from the Universities of Bristol and Bath, United Kingdom. Harmless low voltages are passed through conductive threads that are stitched into garment seams to create electrical circuits.
This study investigated how walking in occupational footwear (OF) affects slip outcome and slip recovery strategies in response to an unexpected slip. Participants walked along a walkway while either barefoot (BF; n = 13) or in OF (n = 12). The first five walking trials consisted of the no-slip condition, where a high friction sheet was…
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