An exploration of the acute response of the asymptomatic Achilles tendon to exercise using diagnostic ultrasound. A systematic review of cohort studies.

Objectives: To describe the acute effects of exercise on the morphology, mechanical properties and blood flow of the Achilles tendon, as measured with ultrasound.

Design: Systematic review of cohort studies.

Methods: Seven electronic research databases were systematically searched for exercise intervention-based studies reporting morphology, mechanical properties and blood flow of the Achilles tendon, as measured with ultrasound.

Determining confidence and anxiety of Australian community podiatrists in managing foot ulceration: A cross-sectional study.

Background: Diabetes related foot ulcer (DFU) is a leading cause of impaired quality of life, disability, hospitalisation, amputation and mortality in people with diabetes. It is therefore critical that podiatrists across all settings, including community settings, are confident and capable of providing care for diabetes-related foot complications. This study aims to describe current practice, confidence and anxiety levels of community podiatrists in the management of patients with foot ulceration.

Reliability of Ultrasound Assessment of Hamstring Morphology, Quality, and Stiffness Among Healthy Adults and Athletes: A Systematic Review.

Context: The incidence and recurrence rate of hamstring strain injuries remain persistently high, with recurrent injuries leading to increased time lost during play and extended recovery periods compared with initial injury. Ultrasound imaging assesses important factors such as hamstring fascicle length (FL), pennation angle (PA), cross-sectional area (CSA), muscle thickness (MT), echo intensity (EI), and shear wave elastography (SWE), all impacting athletic performance. However, its reliability must be established before employing any measurement tool in research or clinical settings.

Textured insoles may improve some gross motor balance measures but not endurance measures in children with motor coordination issues. A randomised controlled feasibility trial.

Background: Motor coordination concerns are estimated to affect 5%-6% of school-aged children. Motor coordination concerns have variable impact on children's lives, with gait and balance often affected. Textured insoles have demonstrated positive impact on balance and gait in adults with motor coordination disorders related to disease or the ageing process.

Exploring Allied Health Models of Care for Children with Developmental Health Concerns, Delays, and Disabilities in Rural and Remote Areas: A Systematic Scoping Review.

Background: Access to appropriate healthcare is essential for children's healthy development. This is lacking in rural and remote areas, impacting health outcomes. Despite efforts to improve access for these communities, to date, no review has systematically mapped the literature on allied health models of care for children with developmental needs.

Continuing professional development opportunities for Australian endorsed for scheduled medicines podiatrists-What's out there and is it accessible, relevant, and meaningful? A cross-sectional survey.

Background: Non-medical prescribing is a valuable strategy to enable equitable access to medications in the context of the increasing demands on health services globally. Australian podiatrists have been able to seek endorsement for scheduled medicines (ESM) for over a decade. This project investigates the perceptions and habits of ESM podiatrists in meeting the extra continuing professional development (CPD) requirements associated with their ESM status.

Consensus-based statements for assessing clinical competency in podiatry-related work integrated learning.

Background: The training of undergraduate and graduate-entry podiatry students in Australia and New Zealand includes practical sessions in a simulated and real-life clinical setting and Work Integrated Learning (WIL) comprising professional clinical placements. Student performance during WIL is evaluated by their Clinical Educators using clinical competency tools. Having a standardised and validated clinical assessment tool for WIL in podiatry would facilitate consistency in assessment, promote standardisation between programs, and ensure that all podiatry students are assessed against a set of criteria over the course of their clinical programs to the point of threshold clinical competency.

Development of the consensus-based recommendations for Podiatry care of Neuropathy In Cancer Survivors (PodNICS): a Delphi consensus study of Australian podiatrists.

Background: Chemotherapy Induced Peripheral Neuropathy (CIPN) is the most common presenting side effect of chemotherapy. As a sensory based neuropathy, this condition can persist for a long time after cessation of chemotherapy and impact the quality of life of cancer survivors. Podiatrists in Australia have been managing people with CIPN related lower limb complications, however guidelines on management of CIPN do not exist.

Parents, health professionals and footwear stakeholders' beliefs on the importance of different features of young children's footwear: a qualitative study.

Background: A small but building pool of evidence of the impact of footwear on children's function means understanding the different beliefs of stakeholders about footwear key features and flexibility is critical for translation into recommendations and to support parents and caregivers in purchasing footwear for their children. Therefore, this research aimed to describe how different stakeholders (health professionals, parents, and footwear industry representatives) described the importance of flexibility and other footwear features for young children.

Methods: This qualitative study was nested within an international modified Delphi online survey.

Young children's footwear taxonomy: An international Delphi survey of parents, health and footwear industry professionals.

Objective: There is little consistency between commercial grade footwear brands for determining shoe sizing, and no universally accepted descriptors of common types or features of footwear. The primary aim of this research was to develop a footwear taxonomy about the agreed types of footwear commonly worn by children under the age of six. Secondary aims were to gain consensus of the common footwear features, when different types of footwear would be commonly worn, common terms for key footwear parts, and how movement at some of these footwear parts should be described.

Development and use of the PodEssential and Paeds-PodEssential triage tools to define "essential" podiatry services. A Delphi survey, scoping review, and face validity testing study.

Background: The coronavirus pandemic resulted in unique challenges for podiatrists in Australia. Podiatrists were tasked with having to make triage decisions about face-to-face care without clear guidelines. This research aimed to develop podiatry triage tools to understand individual risk for adults and children, and explore the face validity of both tools.

Australian podiatrists scheduled medicine prescribing practices and barriers and facilitators to endorsement: a cross-sectional survey.

Background: Non-medical prescribing is one healthcare reform strategy that has the potential to create health system savings and offer equitable and timely access to scheduled medicines. Podiatrists are well positioned to create health system efficiencies through prescribing, however, only a small proportion of Australian podiatrists are endorsed to prescribe scheduled medicines. Since scheduled medicines prescribed by Australian podiatrists are not subsidised by the Government, there is a lack of data available on the prescribing practices of Australian podiatrists.

Children's school footwear: The impact of fit on foot function, comfort and jump performance in children aged 8 to 12 years.

Background: There is a common perception that poorly fitting footwear will negatively impact a child's foot, however, there is limited evidence to support this.

Aim: To determine the effect of shoe size on foot motion, perceived footwear comfort and fit during walking, maximal vertical jump height and maximal standing broad jump distance in children aged 8-12 years.

Methods: Fourteen participants completed 3D walking gait analysis and jumping tasks in three different sizes of school shoes (one size bigger, fitted for size, one size smaller).

Gross motor skill development is similar in children post Ponseti casting for congenital talipes equinovarus compared to typically developing children: a systematic review.

This review aimed to investigate gross motor skill development in children with congenital talipes equinovarus (CTEV) following the Ponseti method of casting and bracing. Summary of evidence revealed through a systematic search of electronic databases completed in May 2019. A Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement was used to report and conduct the study.

Barriers to and facilitators of endorsement for scheduled medicines in podiatry: a qualitative descriptive study.

Background: Australian podiatrists and podiatric surgeons who have successfully completed the requirements for endorsement for scheduled medicines, as directed by the Podiatry Board of Australia, are eligible to prescribe a limited amount of schedule 2, 3, 4 or 8 medications. Registration to become endorsed for scheduled medicines has been available to podiatrists for over 10 years, yet the uptake of training has remained low (approximately 2% of registered podiatrists/podiatry surgeons). This study aimed to explore barriers to and facilitators of engagement with endorsement for scheduled medicines by podiatrists.

The reliability and validity of the weight-bearing lunge test in a Congenital Talipes Equinovarus population (CTEV).

Question: What is the intra and inter-rater reliability and concurrent validity of the weight-bearing lunge test within a Congenital Talipes Equinovarus population?

Design: Test retest design for reliability and validity. The measure was taken, following preconditioning of the participants, using distance from wall, angle at distal posterior tibia using a digital inclinometer and the iPhone level function, twice by each rater. The raters included a clinician, clinician in training and a parent/carer.

Differences in walking and running gait in children with and without developmental coordination disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is a common motor skills disorder in children. Although gait changes are often reported clinically, affecting children's participation in play and sport, there has been no synthesis of research evidence comparing gait of children with and without DCD. Thus, the aim of this research was to determine differences in gait between children with and without DCD METHODS: A search of electronic databases (AMED, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Embase, Medline, SPORTDiscus, & Web of Science) was conducted from inception to August 2019 for studies comparing walking and/or running gait of children with and without DCD.

Adequacy of clinical information in X-ray referrals for traumatic ankle injury with reference to the Ottawa Ankle Rules-a retrospective clinical audit.

Study Objective: To assess the adequacy of clinical information with reference to the Ottawa Ankle Rules (OAR) in X-ray referrals for adults with traumatic ankle injury in the ED of a South Australian tertiary hospital and report upon referring trends between emergency department clinicians.

Methods: A retrospective clinical audit of adult ankle X-ray referrals in the emergency department was conducted. Eligible referrals were screened for their adherence to the OAR, patient details, clinical history and referrer.

Determining the clinical knowledge and practice of Australian podiatrists on children with developmental coordination disorder: a cross-sectional survey.

Background: Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is a common condition in children affecting motor coordination. This impacts on academic performance, and activities of daily living. Literature surrounding interventions for DCD has focused mostly on physical and occupational therapies.

The iPhone Measure app level function as a measuring device for the weight bearing lunge test in adults: a reliability study.

Background: Ankle joint range of motion is a frequently assessed measure used by health care clinicians who manage lower limb pathologies to identify ankle equinus and/or other joint motion concerns that may negatively impact on function. The purpose of this study was to assess a new iPhone application (the level function of the 'Measure application'), for measuring the weightbearing ankle lunge test in a healthy adult population (reliability) and measuring known angles (validity) when compared to a digital inclinometer.

Methods: To determine intra-rater reliability, inter-rater reliability and concurrent validity, 168 measures were conducted on 21 participants.

Paediatric flexible flat foot: how are we measuring it and are we getting it right? A systematic review.

Background: Flexible flat foot is a normal observation in typically developing children, however, some children with flat feet present with pain and impaired lower limb function. The challenge for health professionals is to identify when foot posture is outside of expected findings and may warrant intervention. Diagnoses of flexible flat foot is often based on radiographic or clinical measures, yet the validity and reliability of these measures for a paediatric population is not clearly understood.