Cover Story
Kickboxing isn’t just for elite martial artists. In fact, preliminary research suggests the kicks, punches, and knee movements associated with the sport can improve balance and mobility in patients with multiple sclerosis. And as an added bonus, it’s also fun.
By Kurt Jackson PT, PhD, GCS, and Kimberly Edginton-Bigelow, PhD
Editor Message
It’s widely believed that women persist in wearing high-heeled shoes, despite what can be considerable discomfort, for aesthetic reasons. But what if, on some level, we’re attracted to high-heeled shoes because we associate them with social status?
Jordana Bieze Foster, Editor
Special Section
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Teachings from the East
Researchers and practitioners from across the globe came together in Hyderabad, India, in February for the World Congress of the International Society of Prosthetics & Orthotics (ISPO). LER’s exclusive coverage of the 2013 World Congress, held in India for the first time, explores the evidence-based use of lower extremity devices for conditions ranging from stroke to cerebral palsy to diabetes.
By Jordana Bieze Foster
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Brace wear time, not torque, is key – Dynamic orthoses offer an effective alternative to static devices for management of tip-toe gait and knee flexion contracture in children with cerebral palsy (CP), particularly because the dynamic devices are associated with greater compliance, according to separate studies from Sweden and France.
A Taiwanese study offers more evidence that offloading knee braces and wedged foot orthoses are both associated with significant biomechanical improvements in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA).
A rocker bar proximally positioned on a running shoe can relieve tension on the Achilles tendon as well as reduce the force required of the calf muscles during walking and slow running, according to research from the Netherlands.
Swedes also find low ulceration rate – Research from Sweden and Egypt provides more evidence that foot orthoses can significantly decrease plantar pressures in patients with diabetes, theoretically reducing the risk of foot ulcers and lower extremity amputation.
Orthotic management of pediatric talipes planovalgus starting at an early age is associated with significant improvement in weightbearing arch structure, according to research from Saga University in Japan.
Tibial inclination appears significant – Orthotic walkers have significant effects on proximal joint mechanics during gait, the extent of which appear to depend on individual device design, according to research from the University of Central Lancashire in the UK.
What appears to be idiopathic scoliosis may actually be functional scoliosis that can be effectively treated with foot orthoses in children who are hyperpronators, according to research from Chungnam National University in Daejeon, South Korea.
Functional balance test scores rise – Use of an ankle foot orthosis (AFO) within six weeks of stroke results in better balance outcomes and earlier independent ambulation than if AFO use is delayed, according to research from the Netherlands.
Departments
Anterior knee pain is one of the most common injuries affecting runners, accounting for 25% of all running injuries.1 The etiology of anterior knee pain is multifactorial in nature,2 but one of the most commonly cited biomechanical risk factors is excessive rearfoot pronation.
By Pedro Rodrigues, MS, PT, PhD, Trampas TenBroek, PhD, and Joseph Hamill, PhD
Two February publications sum up the polarizing nature of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) for treating recalcitrant diabetic foot ulcers. A meta-analysis supported use of HBOT, while a large cohort study found a lack of effectiveness in community-care settings.
By Larry Hand
Research suggests that exercise therapy can help reverse the ambulatory impairments associated with lower extremity pain in patients with peripheral arterial disease. The next step is to determine the methods of exercise therapy most likely to result in optimal outcomes.
By Ana I. Casanegra, MD, Omar L. Esponda, MD, and Andrew W. Gardner, PhD
Varus thrust is a characteristic of dynamic alignment that has been shown to be predictive of medial tibiofemoral structural progression. Treatments aimed at minimizing varus thrust may reduce structural progression and symptoms related to knee osteoarthritis.
By Grace Hsiao-Wei Lo, MD, MSc
Team practitioners at the United States Naval Academy designed an orthotic intervention to prevent turf toe and Lisfranc sprains in football linemen and gained valuable insights about how players’ preferences and predispositions can affect compliance.
By CAPT Jeff Fair, EdD, ATC, LAT; CAPT David Keblish, MD; and LCDR Anthony Rabaiotti, DPM
News
In the Moment: Sports Medicine
By Emily Delzell
Jones and proximal diaphyseal fifth metatarsal fractures are common among football players and may shorten their athletic careers, according to a February study that found players with fractures were significantly more likely than players without the injuries to have played in fewer than 10 National Football League (NFL) games.
Investigators at Brigham Young University in Provo, UT, reported that runners who transitioned from traditional running shoes to zero-drop shoes meant to mimic barefoot running had evidence of bone marrow edema, a marker for stress on the foot, after gradual transition from conventional to minimalist shoes.
The highest knee injury rates in US high school sports are associated with football, followed by girl’s soccer and gymnastics, according to an epidemiological study from The Ohio State University in Columbus and Colorado State University in Aurora.
Market Mechanics
Products
South West Orthopedic Designs unveils its ICC (improved conformity control) technology for gauntlets and ankle foot orthoses (AFOs). The ICC system utilizes innovations in nyglass/carbon fiber/resin laminations to facilitate a variety of flexible to rigid support options for foot and ...
biodesigns now offers the High-Fidelity (HiFi) Interface System with OsseoSync Technology for lower extremity amputees. The HiFi Interface is designed to offer the benefits of osseointegration without the surgery that would attach the prosthesis directly to the residual limb. The ...
UCO International introduces Thermoflux, the newest in the company’s line of quality reinforcement materials. Reinforcement materials are popular for their ability to serve as the framework for foot orthoses by adding strength without adding thickness. Thermoflux is a lightweight, fibrous ...
ComfortFit Labs now offers a rigid carbon Morton’s Extension option for any of the company’s graphlite composite orthotic devices. Thinner and lighter than the company’s other orthotic shells, the graphlite composite shells are designed for semiactive to active patients needing ...
The new Signature Series of APOPPS (Adjustable PostOperative Preparatory Prosthetic System) sockets features combined sizing for better inventory management. Rather than seven sizes, the new series includes four sizes: #1416, #1618, #1821, and #2124. The new Signature Series sockets are ...
St. Justine introduces antibacterial socks to help relieve the itchy, annoying symptoms of fungal infection or athlete’s foot. Bio-Kil Anti-Bacteria Socks feature the Bio-Kil biocide formula—which is designed to target bacteria, fungi, molds, and viruses—integrated in a sock material made ...
Bioness has received 510(k) clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration to market a smaller leg cuff for use with its L300 Foot Drop System, which uses neuromodulation technology to treat foot drop. The leg cuff, wrapped just below ...
Powerstep introduces SlenderFit Fashion Orthotics, new sulcus-length orthoses specifically designed for use in women’s fashion footwear to help relieve foot pain and discomfort. The S (or cobra) shape cradles the heel and provides arch support. The built-in metatarsal cushion with ...
Delcam has added a new program to software options for the design and manufacture of custom orthotic insoles. OrthoticSelector provides a lower-cost solution for practitioners and laboratories by allowing them to identify, from a library of existing designs, the prefabricated ...
Nolaro 24 offers the new littlesteps Gait Plate for kids, semirigid prefabricated orthoses that limit in-toeing gait caused by rotational deformities of the lower limb while simultaneously addressing overpronation, which is often associated with in-toeing. A semirigid shell extends laterally ...
