Download the Complete issue as a PDF (6mb)
Cover Story
Although footwear may in fact play a role in the development of knee osteoarthritis and its clinical management, those relationships are turning out to be much more complicated than once thought.
By Cary Groner
Editor Message
3D printing is no longer some futuristic concept that might someday affect lower extremity healthcare. It’s here, and it’s already changing the landscape more quickly than many had expected.
By Jordana Bieze Foster
CONFERENCE COVERAGE: Ortho Technology Forum 2015
Technology experts, lower extremity clinicians, and orthotic lab owners and managers collected in Vancouver, Canada, in April to discuss and debate the technical and clinical implications of new developments in the design and manufacturing of footwear and foot orthoses.
By Jordana Bieze Foster
Sponsored by an educational grant from…
News on 2015 OTF coming soon…
details will be posted on www.orthotics-technology-forum.com
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…
Departments
Adapted tango, a version of traditional Argentine tango modified to address motor impairments, has been shown to improve balance, mobility, and cognition in older adults and patients with Parkinson disease, with better compliance than conventional rehabilitation.
By Madeleine E. Hackney, PhD
Research generally upholds total ankle arthroplasty as a viable alternative to the traditional first-line surgical treatment, ankle arthrodesis, for correctly selected patients with end-stage ankle arthritis. But complication rates associated with ankle arthroplasty remain an area of concern.
By Hank Black
Hip strength is associated with performance on the Star Excursion Balance Test in female collegiate athletes, a finding that adds to the evidence that hip strengthening programs can…
By Jatin P. Ambegaonkar, PhD, ATC, OT, CSCS; Lindsey M. Mettinger, MS, ATC; Shane V. Caswell, PhD, ATC; Andrea Burtt, MS, ATC; Shruti J. Ambegaonkar, PT, PhD; and ...
News
In the Moment: Sports Medicine
By Jordana Bieze Foster
Postural control deficits in concussed athletes remain long after their clinical symptoms have resolved, and earlier return to activity exacerbates those lingering effects, according to research presented in May at the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) in San Diego.
Plantar pressure-based auditory feedback is associated with changes in plantar pressure and muscle activation during gait in patients with chronic ankle instability, according to research from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.
Youth soccer coaches can successfully implement an injury prevention program after a single 90-minute training workshop, according to research presented in May at the ACSM meeting.
In the Moment: Foot Function
By P.K. Daniel
Researchers from the Spaulding National Running Center at the Harvard Medical School in Cambridge, MA, have found that running in highly cushioned shoes is not associated with lower impact forces than conventional running shoes.
Minimalist shoes are associated with better balance performance than clog-style molded plastic shoes or flip-flops, according to a study from the University of Mississippi in Oxford.
Dynamic measures of arch height in runners are significantly different from static measures, according to research from Brigham Young University in Provo, UT.
Market Mechanics
By Emily Delzell
Products
Soletech now offers Rigid-Flex and Semi-Flex insoles for athletes and others who will benefit from extra arch support. Both the Rigid-Flex and Semi-Flex insoles are lightweight and slender, with a streamlined shape.
Sigvaris announces a new therapeutic compression sock option for patients with diabetes. Constructed with the company’s drirelease yarns and embedded FreshGuard technology, Sigvaris Eversoft Diabetic Socks are designed to…
Sensor Products announces Pressurex Duration, a visual indicator sensor film that reveals the longevity of physical compressive load. The technological innovation behind Pressurex Duration is a sophisticated nanoparticle lattice structure that…
Copolymer polypropylene is now available from Allied O&P Supply in red, light blue, royal blue, purple, yellow, light pink, and brown. Copolymer polypropylene has some flexibility and good crack resistance, but it is more resilient 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…
Tamarack Habilitation Technologies announces the Tamarack Plantarflexion Limiter Kit, which provides 30° of precision adjustability for plantar flexion control. Kits come in medium and large sizes, can be used with thermoplastic and…
Hersco’s new Lower Extremity Ankle Protection (LEAP) brace, the latest in the company’s line of ankle foot orthoses (AFOs), is designed to help improve stability and proprioception in elderly patients and others who are at risk for…
Townsend Design announces the North American release of the Active Reliever, a soft shell single-upright knee brace for osteoarthritis (OA). This brace, available off the shelf or custom fitted, is designed to relieve pain by reducing load on the…
Physical therapist Adriaan Louw’s Why You Hurt: Therapeutic Neuroscience Education System is a comprehensive tool for teaching patients about pain, distilling complex neuroscience into easily approachable language, examples, metaphors and…
Allied OSI Labs has expanded the “SideKicks” over-the-counter (OTC) orthotic line, providing a more complete solution for in-office dispensing. The original SideKicks line, launched in 2012, consisted of three full-length OTC foot orthoses…
