Lower limb

Ballet improves balance, social skills in children with cerebral palsy

Classical ballet classes may help improve balance while enhancing social skills in school-aged children with cerebral palsy (CP), according to a new study. Ballet Academy East, New York. Photo Rosalie-O’Connor Joana Fernandes PhD, … READ MORE

In search of a better backrest

This past Tuesday, I rolled by my local wheelchair shop to make a small chair adjustment. I’ve recently been working with one of the staff members to rebuild my backrest in a way that would give me better posture, and I wanted one … READ MORE

Minimal shoes may reduce running injuries

Runners who wear running shoes with no cushioning and land on the ball of their foot rather than the heel put significantly less demand on their bodies, new research suggests. Barefoot Running Shoes vs Minimalist Running Shoes: 5 Key … READ MORE

Experimental scaffold hasn’t reversed her paralysis, but she’s embraced life ‘with wheels as legs’

Jesi Stracham used to captivate biotech investors and inadvertently move markets with social media posts documenting her dogged quest to get out of her wheelchair and back onto her feet. Jesi Stracham participates in an adaptive water … READ MORE

Walking uses more than just feet

We humans walk with our feet. This is true, but not entirely. Walking, as part of locomotion, is a coordinated whole-body movement that involves both the arms and legs. Walking is a whole-body movement. Arm and leg movements are … READ MORE

Comparison of a conventional knee-ankle-foot orthosis and a new powered KAFO

Evaluation of gait symmetry in poliomyelitis. A new powered knee–ankle–foot orthosis can improve gait symmetry for poliomyelitis subjects by influencing step width, swing time, stance time percentage, and knee flexion during swing … READ MORE

Does a heavy running shoe slow you down?

In a famous study three decades ago, experimental biologists strapped a pair of 1.8-kilogram weights around the waists of volunteers and found that they only had to expend about 4 per cent more energy to maintain the same running pace … READ MORE

Out on a limb: Think outside the knee

We hear a lot about various co-morbidities associated with knee osteoarthritis (OA), and how addressing those additional conditions can help improve knee pain and function. But a growing body of research suggests one set of … READ MORE

Ambulatory kids with mild cerebral palsy have adverse musculoskeletal profile

Compared with typically developing children, ambulatory children with mild spastic cerebral palsy (CP) have pronounced deficits in cortical bone architecture, lower bone strength, and elevated infiltration of fat in the bone marrow … READ MORE

Exercise: Not a miracle cure, just good medicine

Physical activity remains the best buy for public health. Michael Gendy of King, NC continues to exercise after participating in a Wake Forest School of Medicine study that found aerobic activity may lower a risk factor for developing … READ MORE

Offloading the knee through gait modification

Changing the way people walk can significantly decrease knee external adduction moments, which in turn appears to relieve pain and possibly slow the progression of osteoarthritis. The challenge, however, is finding a gait modification … READ MORE

Chronic ankle instability, gait and muscle activity

Clinicians should be aware of distal and proximal neuromuscular strategies when attempting to improve gait mechanics in patients with chronic ankle instability. New research suggests lower extremity clinicians should consider … READ MORE

Moderate activity helps older adults maintain mobility and independence

By adopting a walking routine and other moderate physical activities, older adults can recover from a major disability more quickly, and maintain their independence over time, according to a new Yale-led study. Nordic walking on a … READ MORE

Even mild LLD affects gait in ways that could speed knee degeneration

In the moment: Knee OA. The effects of mild limb-length discrepancy (LLD) on gait in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) may contribute to disease progression, according to research epublished in August by Clinical Biomechanics. … READ MORE

Minimalist shoes increase leg and foot muscles

Running in minimalist shoes can increase leg and foot muscle volume, indicating its potential application in rehabilitation programme, according to a recent study conducted by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and the … READ MORE

Effects on gait by varying stiffness of ankle foot orthoses for children with cerebral palsy

Gait in children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) is often characterized by abnormal gait biomechanics, such as excessive knee flexion during stance. Associated with such gait deviations, an elevated walking energy cost is often observed, … READ MORE

Raising Singapore’s Paralympic heroes

Para-swimmer Yip Pin Xiu’s parents were 15 minutes late for the interview. Apologising, Margaret Chong said she and her husband, Yip Chee Khiong, had been picking out Havaianas flip-flops from a shopping mall in Rio. … READ MORE

Part 1: When a knee replacement specialist needs his own new knee

Ira H. Kirschenbaum MD, chairman of the Department of Orthopedics at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center, Bronx, New York, has performed over 3500 total knee replacements. When Dr Kirschenbaum needed a new knee himself, he kept a diary from … READ MORE

Rx: Exercise daily—outdoors. Doctor’s orders

Prescribing nature therapy. Slow Uptake of Exercise Prescriptions. With dazzling Olympic feats on display all summer, too many of my patients are still literally immobilized. Medically, sitting too long shuts off the enzyme … READ MORE

Similar risk for injury found with traditional vs minimalist running shoes

Compared with soldiers in the U.S. Army who wore stability, cushioning or motional-control shoes, soldiers who wore minimalist running shoes were younger and had higher physical performance scores. However, investigators found no … READ MORE

New approaches to orthotic management in children with cerebral palsy

Practitioners look to novel ways of using familiar lower limb orthotic alternatives to complement new technology. No single treatment is appropriate for every child, but it is generally agreed that the sooner intervention is started … READ MORE

All in the hips – professional golfers more likely to have different shaped hip joints

Lack of success on the fairway may not be due to your swing – it could be your hips that are to blame. New research from the University of Warwick has found that professional golfers are more likely to have different shaped … READ MORE

Robotic gait training for kids with CP: Is it really effective?

UAlberta study recruiting children to evaluate Lokomat gait training program. Researchers at Canada’s University of Alberta Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine are investigating the effectiveness of a gait training program on a … READ MORE

Gaming camera could aid MS treatment

Kinect 3D camera used to assess walking of MS patients. A team of researchers led by McGill University postdoctoral fellow Farnood Gholami, supervised by Jozsef Kövecses from the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Centre for … READ MORE

To brace or not to brace? Bracing for neuromuscular conditions

There is no doubt about it: braces are a pain. Sometimes they are a literal pain, causing pain for your child. And sometimes they are a more figurative pain in the rear end—difficult to deal with, difficult to get on and off, … READ MORE

9 things no one ever tells you about getting a knee replacement

After 20 years of pain and icing her knee nightly, Sue Minutaglio of Westchester NY, knew she couldn’t put off a knee replacement any longer. What she didn’t know was what a long, grueling road was ahead of her. “After 2 … READ MORE

CP studies assess advantages of flexible AFOs for children

The flexibility of an ankle foot orthosis (AFO) does not necessarily affect walking economy in children with cerebral palsy (CP), but more flexible AFOs may be particularly beneficial for sports activities in higher-performing … READ MORE

Walk this way: New metric could help kids with cerebral palsy

For more than 20 years, clinicians working with children with cerebral palsy have been gathering “a deluge of data” to understand and treat their patients’ walking difficulties. But they still weren’t sure which children with … READ MORE

My SCI taught me to say “Yes” to new experiences

Living with a T4 spinal cord injury allows me do things I never would have in the course of my ordinary life — it taught me to say “yes” to new experiences. Flying a glider is an activity Dalton probably would never have tried … READ MORE

Skin care issues related to orthotic device wear

Modern orthotic devices are designed to fit more intimately than in the past, a development that allows for more effective biomechanical correction. But this evolution has also led to an increase in the incidence of lower extremity … READ MORE

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