First ray mobility and posterior tibial tendon dysfunction (PTTD) in persons with flatfoot: A case control study.

Background: While posterior tibial tendon dysfunction (PTTD) commonly presents with flat feet and has been thought to be associated with first ray mobility, many flat-footed individuals are asymptomatic and do not experience any symptoms of PTTD. Thus, there is a need to control for foot type when studying factors related to PTTD. This study aimed to clarify if first ray mobility differed between flat-footed individuals with and without symptoms of PTTD.

The role of skeletal muscle in the pathophysiology and management of knee osteoarthritis.

The role of skeletal muscle in the pathophysiology of knee OA is poorly understood. To date, the majority of literature has focused on the association of muscle strength with OA symptoms, disease onset and progression. However, deficits or improvements in skeletal muscle strength do not fully explain the mechanisms behind outcome measures in knee OA, such as pain, function and structural disease.

A novel method of measuring passive quasi-stiffness in the first metatarsophalangeal joint.

Background: First metatarsophalangeal joint (MTPJ) mobility is commonly assessed by its angular displacement (joint angle) or subjectively rated as 'hypermobile', 'normal' or 'stiff' by a clinician. Neither of these methods is ideal because displacement alone does not take into account the force required to displace the joint and subjective evaluation is not always reliable. This study presented a novel method to determine the passive quasi-stiffness of the first MTPJ.

Body Mass Changes Across a Variety of Running Race Distances in the Tropics.

Background: Current literature evaluating body mass (BM) changes across a variety of running race distances is limited. The primary objective of this study was to profile the range of BM changes across race distances. The secondary objective was to evaluate the prevalence of exercise-associated hyponatremia (EAH) in runners admitted to the on-site medical tent following participation of race events of different distances.