Lower Extremity Review
To better understand how ankle sprains negatively affect balance, Kyung-Min Kim, Ph.D., ATC, assistant professor, University of Miami Department of Kinesiology and Sport Sciences, and South Korean colleagues looked at the effects of acute lateral ankle sprain (ALAS) on reactive balance. Their findings were presented in the poster, Reactive Balance Following Acute Lateral Ankle Sprain.5
For young, active individuals, returning to sport after an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and not suffering a second injury is often difficult. Figuring out how to prevent reinjury is even more tricky, says Mark Paterno, PhD, PT, MBA, ATC from the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Ohio.
ACL injuries are one of the most common sports injuries affecting adolescent athletes, leading to lost playing time and high healthcare costs. Athletes who experience fatigue – tested on a standardized assessment — demonstrated increased risk of ACL injury, according to this study, which is the first to measure the direct impact of fatigue on injury risk in the adolescent population.
Female athletes are 2 to 8 times more likely to injure their ACL than males, however utilizing one graft repair treatment method in females may be more beneficial than another, according to new research from Hytham Salem and colleagues from the Rothman Institute in Philadelphia, PA. Their paper, “Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction in Young Females: Patella…
Knee pain in active patients over 40 is often difficult to treat but utilizing a special kind of allograft may be a step in the right direction, according to research from Katlyn Robinson, BS and colleagues in a paper titled, “Efficacy of Osteochondral Allograft Transplantation in the Knee in Adults Forty Years and Older.”
Young patients who underwent surgery for isolated meniscus tears between 1990 and 2005 showed positive long-term clinical results. The study represents one of the largest long-term follow-up cohorts describing clinical outcomes of meniscus repair in pediatric patients to date.
How many practice trials are needed to achieve functional performance in static and dynamic balance and hopping tests among those with chronic ankle instability (CAI)? That was the question Jordan Read, a student at the University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, Texas, and colleagues looked to answer in his poster, Recommended Number of Trials for Balance and Hopping Tests between Male and Female CAI.1
Chronic ankle instability (CAI) is a common issue in the athletic population. Although there are many prophylactic taping methods used to prevent repetitive ankle sprains, the effects of these taping methods in dynamic postural control are not clearly understood.
In the poster, Altered Movement Neuromechanics during Jump Landing and Cutting in Patients with Chronic Ankle Instability,3 Hyunsoo Kim, assistant professor of the Department of Kinesiology, West Chester University, West Chester, PA, and colleagues looked at altered movement pattern in patients with CAI to examine biomechanical factors for CAI.
Even though there have been numerous studies regarding prophylactic ankle taping, the way to control the increased mechanical laxity associated with their condition during dynamic activity is not clear. To investigate the effects of traditional tape (TT), fibular repositioning tape (FRT), and kinesiology tape (KT) on joint angles of the lower extremity, Songah Chae, a student in the Department of Movement Sciences at the University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, led a research team on the study, Influence of Prophylactic Ankle Tapes on Lower Extremity Kinematics during Stop-jump in Chronic Ankle Instability.4
Looking to identify specific movement strategies and describe lower extremity stiffness of the subgroups of patients with CAI compared to an uninjured control group, J. Ty Hopkins, PhD, professor of human performance research center at Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, examined 200 CAI participants (109 male) and 100 controls (54 male).
Given the heterogeneity of many patient populations for whom ankle foot orthoses (AFOs) are indicated, it’s not surprising that AFO experts are at the forefront of the current trend favoring customization of devices to meet individual patient needs. Research presented in May at the 2017 International Society of Prosthetics & Orthotics (ISPO) World Congress in Cape Town, South Africa, illustrated some of the many ways AFO stiffness and alignment can be optimized in the interest of patient-centric care.
Less may be more when it comes to knee bracing in some patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) and patellofemoral pain (PFP), according to studies of soft knee braces presented in May at the 2017 ISPO World Congress in Cape Town, South Africa.
A scientific approach to insole design can help reduce plantar pressures associated with diabetic footwear, in turn reducing the risk of plantar ulcerations, according to research presented in May at the 2017 ISPO World Congress in Cape Town, South Africa.
Studies presented in May at the 2017 ISPO World Congress in Cape Town, South Africa, added to knee experts’ understanding of the mechanisms underlying distal interventions to reduce pain and joint loading in patients with medial knee osteoarthritis (OA).
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