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Cover Story
As the popularity of foam rollers escalates, researchers are scrambling to document the therapy’s effects and tease out the possible underlying mechanisms, which now appear to be more complicated than the earliest investigators had hypothesized.
By Cary Groner
Editor Message
My grandmother smoked for decades, and although she did eventually succeed in quitting, she still spent the last few years of her life linked to an oxygen tank. And as a medical journalist, I’m very familiar with the long list of health-related disadvantages of smoking…
Jordana Bieze Foster, Editor
QUARTERLY REPORT: Foot Health
A survey isn’t the most rigorous of scientific methodologies, but survey-based studies can provide the kind of real-world perspective that’s missing from research done in a controlled laboratory environment. And, when biomechanists are as divided on a topic as they are on minimalist running shoes, a fresh perspective can be a very good thing.
By Jordana Bieze Foster
Departments
A number of amputees, many inspired by the expert care they received after losing a limb, have been motivated to pursue careers in prosthetics, where they can provide patients with a unique and personal perspective. Four of these practitioners shared their stories with.
By P.K. Daniel
Multiple studies indicate that poor movement, as assessed using the Functional Movement Screen, and past history of injury are risk factors for future injury, and a recent investigation suggests that risk is…
By MAJ Michael Garrison, PT, DSc, OCS, SCS; and MAJ Richard Westrick, PT, DSc, OCS, SCS
Kinematic and kinetic alterations in the lower extremities that researchers have observed during the course of a prolonged run may provide clinically relevant insights into patellofemoral pain and other conditions associated with a gradual onset of symptoms during exercise.
By Lauren Benson, MS; and Kristian O’Connor, PhD
Along with technical issues related to muscle weakness, fatigue, and pain, the challenges of managing this heterogeneous population include patients’ emotional response to the idea of needing an orthotic device for a disability they thought they had overcome.
By Larry Hand
Preliminary research suggests platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a safe and effective means of treating hamstring injuries that do not respond to early conservative measures…
By Frank B. Wydra, MD; Ryan R. Fader, MD; Omer Mei-Dan, MD; and Eric C. McCarty, MD
News
In the Moment: Dance
By Robyn Parets and Jordana Bieze Foster
It’s no surprise that ballet dancers, who spend hours rehearsing high impact jumps, experience a high incidence of lower extremity injuries. A new study, however, shows that dancers can reduce loading on lower extremity joints and…
By Robyn Parets
Excessive peak angles in weightbearing joints during hip hop dance may contribute to lower extremity injuries in this population, according to a September 2015 study published in Medical Problems of Performing Artists.
By Jordana Bieze Foster
Wearing textured insoles during nonclass time is associated with improved ankle proprioception in ballet dancers, according to research from the University of Canberra in Australia.
By Jordana Bieze Foster
In the Moment: Rehabilitation
By Chris Klingenberg and Jordana Bieze Foster
Research epublished in September by the Journal of Sport Rehabilitation supports the use of eccentric strengthening at long muscle lengths for preventing recurrent hamstring injuries.
By Chris Klingenberg
Supervised exercise therapy for intermittent claudication is more effective in men than in women, according to research from the Netherlands that suggests gender-specific interventions may be appropriate in this population.
By Jordana Bieze Foster
A combined intervention of exercise therapy plus training in pain coping skills is associated with better function than either intervention alone in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA), according to an Australian randomized controlled trial.
By Jordana Bieze Foster
Market Mechanics
By Emily Delzell
Products
New from Spenco are Spenco Medics, adjustable replacement insoles featuring the company’s Total Support technology along with interchangeable heel and midfoot pods.
Darco International announces an addition to its Peg Assist Offloading Insole family, the Peg Assist Walker Insole. The insole is composed of the same materials (Poron, Plastazote, and ethylene vinyl acetate) and is the…
MVI Footcare is the exclusive distributor of NuWave Antibacterial and Antifungal Nail Enamel. NuWave enamels include basecoat, topcoat, and matte styles, in 22 colors. Developed by two women podiatrists, NuWave enamels are…
Now available from JMS Plastics Supply is its new Black Volara 4E material. Volara is a closed cell foam that is designed not to absorb moisture, bacteria, or odors. Black Volara is stocked in 30″ x 36″ sheets and in…
Total Vein Systems, a Houston-based medical supply company, recently introduced Repel H2O, a waterproof limb protector. The waterproof product is designed to fit over bandages, dressings, casts, and therapeutic boots to…
Cast Relief by Dry Corp is a new aerosol spray designed to help relieve the itch and odor associated with wearing a lower extremity fiberglass cast.
Bionic Fitness introduces the AbStar Air, a versatile, simple-to-use alternative to the unwieldy exercise ball. The rounded-star design offers the benefits of an unstable surface for exercises involving the muscles of the lower extremities…
When Sigvaris North America launched its Midtown Microfiber hosiery line in 2014, it was the company’s first compression therapy collection designed exclusively for men in three compression levels.
Designed around the motto “Donning Made Easy,” Streifeneder USA has released the new Slide.fit donning aid for transfemoral prostheses. The gliding material offers diminished resistance, allowing the amputee to…
Allied OSI Labs continues to expand its line of over-the-counter, durable medical equipment (DME) products with Medicare-reimbursable crutches for in-office dispensing.
