This e-letter is created to help you take part of the latest research in the area of orthopaedic technology and biomechanics. The articles are presented in a summarized version. This issue is covering the areas of diabetics, sport medicine/orthotics and prosthetics. Diabetic gait and posture abnormalities: A biomechanical investigation through three dimensional gait analysis Clinical Biomechani...

OBJECTIVE To compare patient outcomes 1 year before and 1 year after enrollment in a comprehensive diabetes lower-extremity amputation prevention program. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Outcome data were obtained on 197 patients enrolled in the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Diabetes Foot Program, which provides foot care to a predominantly low-income African-American populati...

We hypothesize that an anecdotally observed increase in tourniquet breakage and decrease in efficacy may be secondary to environmental exposure during military deployment. This was a study comparing efficacy and breakage of 166 Afghanistan-exposed tourniquets to 166 unexposed tourniquets. Afghanistan exposure was defined as tourniquet carriage by field staff in the operational environment for a...

regions (Figure 1): the hindfoot or rearfoot (talus and calcaneus); the midfoot (navicular bone, cuboid bone, and three cuneiform bones); and the forefoot (metatarsals and phalanges). Differences between a newborn foot and an adult foot are summarized in Table 1. Simultaneous observation of both feet can reveal many deformities. The skin should be examined for unusual creases or folds that can ...

BACKGROUND Peripheral vascular disease and/or diabetic neuropathy represent one of the main etiologies for the development of lower leg and/or diabetic foot ulcerations, and especially after acute trauma or chronic mechanical stress. The reconstruction of such wounds is challenging due to the paucity of soft tissue resources in this region. Various procedures including orthobiologics, skin graf...

Athletic injuries of the foot and lower extremity are commonly treated with custom foot orthoses. These devices usually provide immediate relief of the athlete's pain and dysfunction. Occasionally, however, they do not help, or even increase the patient's discomfort. We discuss a method of using in-shoe pressure-measurement systems to analyze the athletic patient's foot and lower-extremity func...

Background: The validity of clinical measurements such as Arch Index for the evaluation of flat foot has not been fully established for the physicians. Objectives: We conducted this study to compare the Arch Index (AI) and Foot Posture Index (FPI) between normal and flat foot children and to assess the differences between the pattern of arch and score of FPI. Patients & Methods: Clinical measur...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW Lower extremity angular deformities are among the most common nontraumatic conditions in children being referred to pediatric orthopedists. Understanding of this abnormality is essential for pediatricians and primary caregivers. There is a development in the surgical management of these problems that has improved the quality of care of affected children and adolescents. RECE...

Background Charcot Neuroarthropathy (CN) is a major foot complication of diabetes which may lead to debilitating foot deformity, recurrent ulceration and lower limb amputation. Podiatrists play a key role along the continuum of the disease from diagnosis to treatment to long-term follow-up and monitoring. The aim of this clinical audit was to gather data on patients managed with active CN in a ...

This paper describes the method of measuring and assessing the pressure distribution under typical feet and the feet of patients with deformities such as: planovalgus, clubfoot, and pes planus using a pedobarograph. Foot pressure distribution was measured during static and walking at individual normal walking speed. Time-series pressure measurements for all sensors were grouped into five anatom...