Lower Extremity Review
In children with diplegic cerebral palsy (CP), wearing bilateral ankle foot orthoses (AFOs) that promote heel-first ground contact helps to improve stability and may reduce the risk of falls, according to research presented in March at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists (AAOP) in Orlando, FL.
By Jordana Bieze Foster
Varying the placement of a shoe heel rocker affects walking gait kinematics, even when the toe rocker placement is kept constant, according to research presented in March at the annual AAOP meeting in Orlando, FL.
By Jordana Bieze Foster
Elevating the heel of a shoe significantly affects foot kinematics but not shank kinematics during gait, according to research from the UK presented in March at the annual AAOP meeting in Orlando, FL.
By Jordana Bieze Foster
When a lamp cord doesn’t quite reach an outlet, you reach for an extension cord. So when a custom ankle foot orthosis (AFO) didn’t quite provide the corrected forefoot abduction desired in patients with posterior tibial tendon dysfunction (PTTD), researchers from Syracuse, NY, added a lateral extension.
By Larry Hand
A walker boot is preferable to two other ankle devices for improving pain and gait after internal fixation for ankle fracture, according to research from the University of Oxford in the UK.
By Jordana Bieze Foster
Patients should refrain from driving for at least six weeks after bunion surgery due to poor braking response times that are not improved with the use of surgical shoes, according to findings from the Medical University of Innsbruck in Austria.
By Larry Hand
Wearing ankle foot orthoses (AFOs) is associated with both physical and cognitive performance during dual-task gait in children with myelomeningocele, according to research presented in…
Increasing the plantar flexion resistance of an ankle foot orthosis (AFO) reduces knee hyperextension and changes foot strike pattern during gait in chronic stroke patients, according to research presented in…
Balance improves over time in children with cerebral palsy (CP) who switch from a dorsiflexion-free orthotic device to a more restrictive one, according to research from Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.
It was a first for Las Vegas physical therapist Edward Dolegowski, PT: An amputee reported that her prosthesis felt like her leg.
By Samantha Rosenblum
Use of a weight-bearing cast for the nonoperative treatment of acute Achilles tendon rupture produces outcomes that are at least equivalent to traditional nonweight-bearing casts, according to a randomized controlled trial from researchers in Auckland, New Zealand.
By Emily Delzell
People who use an ankle foot orthosis (AFO) after a stroke retain significant deficits in neuromuscular function and blood flow many years later, according to research from the University of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City.
By Emily Delzell
Ankle foot orthoses (AFOs) improve self-reported balance confidence and may also improve physical functioning in individuals with chronic poststroke hemiplegia, according to a study published in the April issue of…
An integrated orthotic and rehabilitation program for soldiers with severe lower extremity trauma improves physical function and pain and decreases consideration of late amputation, even when patients begin it more than two years after injury.
Bracing costs less and prevents recurrent ankle sprain more effectively than bracing plus neuromuscular training (NMT), according to a cost-effectiveness analysis of injury prevention methods.
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