April 2021

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Cover Story


Gait and Balance Academy: How Do We Use Gait Analysis to Measure Walking Consistency?
Gait and Balance Academy: How Do We Use Gait Analysis to Measure Walking Consistency?
Have you ever asked yourself this simple question: why do we measure and analyze gait? Overall, the answers will revolve around the same ideas: to gauge the functional status of a person; to follow-up the natural history of a disease; to determine immediate or long-term treatment requirement and effects. By Arnaud Gouelle, PhD, and Patrick Roscher, ...

Perspective 360


Perspective 360: Of Gait Analyses and Elephants
Perspective 360: Of Gait Analyses and Elephants
While researching the history of gait analysis to prepare for this issue, the parable of the blind men and the elephant kept coming to mind. The ancient story is of a group of blind men who have never seen an elephant. On encountering a live elephant, they each touch a different part of the large ...

Terry Talks Tech


Terry Talks Tech: How I Learned to Love Digital O&P
Terry Talks Tech: How I Learned to Love Digital O&P
In 2012, I entered the digital world of orthotics and prosthetics (O&P), but did not fully understand the potential. The practice was a traditional brick and mortar O&P company with a satellite location. The business was built around spinal orthotics, but prosthetics was the… By Terrell S. Tate, BOCP,CO

Patient Guidance


Patient Guidance: Conservative Care Options for the Arthritic Foot
Patient Guidance: Conservative Care Options for the Arthritic Foot
Arthritis is a medical term that describes inflammation of a joint; swelling and tenderness are common symptoms. Joints are areas where 2 different bones contact one another. Some joints allow for motion to occur and some do not. The freedom of movement ranges from… By Paul J. Betschart, DPM

Features


Compartment Syndrome: Appreciating Atypical Lower Leg Pain in Athletes
Compartment Syndrome: Appreciating Atypical Lower Leg Pain in Athletes
Chronic compartment syndrome is an often-overlooked diagnosis in patients who are athletically inclined. With an average 22-month delay in diagnosis, suspicions need to be elevated sooner. Leg pain in the active and athletic patient population can be difficult to evaluate, diagnose… By Hayley Iosue, DPM, Joseph Albright, DPM, and Mark Mendeszoon, DPM
Falls in People with Multiple Sclerosis, Part II: Risk Identification, Intervention, and Future Directions
Falls in People with Multiple Sclerosis, Part II: Risk Identification, Intervention, and Future Directions
Falls are highly prevalent in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and result in a range of negative consequences, such as injury, activity curtailment, reduced quality of life, and increased need for care and time off work. By Susan Coote, PhD; Laura Comber, PhD; Gillian Quinn, PhD; Carme Santoyo-Medina, MSc; Alon Kalron, PhD, PT; Hilary Gunn, PhD

COVID-19 Update


Most COVID-19 Hospitalizations Due to 4 Conditions
A study estimated that nearly two-thirds of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the U.S. could be attributed to obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and heart failure. The findings give insight into how underlying conditions contribute to hospitalizations during the pandemic.
Coping With Pandemic Stress: Unhealthy Weight Gains, Increased Drinking, Poor Sleep
With vaccine availability leading to a potential turning point in the global COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. health crisis is far from over. One year after COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic, many adults report undesired changes to their weight, increased drinking, and other negative behavior changes that may…
COVID-19-related Death in Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases (RMDs)
Researchers from the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance studied 3,729 people with RMDs and COVID-19. In common with the general population, older age was more closely linked to COVID-19 related death. Out of those who died, 69% were over the age of 65.

From the Literature


Dynamic AFO Reduces Pain, Improves Function
Dynamic AFO Reduces Pain, Improves Function
Over 2 million Americans visit the doctor each year for foot and ankle pain stemming from a degenerative condition or injury. Ankle-foot orthoses can effectively manage symptoms, but traditional designs have limitations. This study investigated the acute impact of a novel…
Introducing the American Limb Preservation Society
Introducing the American Limb Preservation Society
Every 20 seconds, somewhere around the world, someone loses their leg because of diabetes. A commentary in the March issue of Foot & Ankle Surgery: Techniques, Reports & Cases, a new journal from the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons, introduced the American Limb Preservation Society (ALPS) with the proverb…
Motion-Control Shoes Reduce Pronation-Related Pathologies
Motion-Control Shoes Reduce Pronation-Related Pathologies
Runners frequently sustain injuries. Increased and poorly timed foot pronation during the running gait cycle and movements that contribute to foot pronation (eversion, abduction, and dorsiflexion) have frequently been cited as risk factors for exercise-related lower-leg pain, medial tibial stress syndrome, stress fractures of…
Telemedicine for Knee OA Provides Important Patient Benefit
Telemedicine for Knee OA Provides Important Patient Benefit
The steadily increasing prevalence and high costs of treating chronic joint pain worldwide poses a challenge for healthcare systems and healthcare payers. New research published in JAMA Network Open shows the effectiveness of a digital healthcare treatment with the potential to save insurance companies and…
Sleep Deprivation & Performance
Sleep Deprivation & Performance
The effects of a single night of complete & partial sleep deprivation on performance. 10 males completed a test battery following 3 different sleep conditions.

Industry News & Updates


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