Plantar soft tissues and Achilles tendon thickness and stiffness in people with diabetes: a systematic review.

Background: Diabetes mellitus is associated with changes in soft tissue structure and function. However, the directionality of this change and the extent to which either tissue thickness or stiffness contributes to the pathogenesis of diabetes-related foot ulcerations is unclear. Hence, this systematic review aims to summarise the existing evidence for soft tissue structural differences in the feet of people with and without diabetes.

Scottish rheumatology sonography course: five-year experience of delivering a mentorship-model rheumatology ultrasound training programme accredited by the consortium for the accreditation of sonographic education.

Background And Aims: Ultrasound training for rheumatology practice in the UK is variable. Currently, there is no agreed minimum standard for training in ultrasound applied to rheumatology patient management. We present our experiences of implementing a competency driven ultrasound training, focused on hands and feet.

Reliability of ultrasound strain elastography in the assessment of the quadriceps and patellar tendon in healthy adults.

Objective: To report the intra- and inter-operator reliability of ultrasound strain elastography measures in the assessment of quadriceps and patellar tendons.

Materials And Methods: Forty tendons were investigated of 20 healthy volunteers. Five anatomical sites were examined and analysed by three operators of differing levels of experience.

A reliability study of biomechanical foot function in psoriatic arthritis based on a novel multi-segmented foot model.

The objective of this study was to determine the within-and between-day reliability of spatio-temporal, plantar pressure, kinematic and kinetic measurements based on a novel, seven segment foot model applied in patients with Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA). Nine PsA patients and matched healthy adult controls underwent three-dimensional gait analysis on two occasions, one week apart using a seven segment foot model. A core-set of functional variables including inter-segment kinematics, kinetics, spatio-temporal and plantar pressure distribution were analysed using the coefficient of multiple correlation (CMC), Bland-Altman plots, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and the standard error of measurement (SEM).