Evaluation of in-shoe plantar pressure and shear during walking for diabetic foot ulcer prevention.

Objective: To investigate reliability and changes of in-shoe plantar pressure and shear during walking at three cadences with two insole designs. This was a precursor to the investigation of plantar loading in people with diabetes for potential foot ulcer prevention.

Method: A sensorised insole system, capable of measuring plantar pressure and shear at the heel, fifth metatarsal head (5MH), first metatarsal head (1MH) and hallux, was tested with ten healthy participants during level walking.

A Wearable Insole System to Measure Plantar Pressure and Shear for People with Diabetes.

Pressure coupled with shear stresses are the critical external factors for diabetic foot ulceration assessment and prevention. To date, a wearable system capable of measuring in-shoe multi-directional stresses for out-of-lab analysis has been elusive. The lack of an insole system capable of measuring plantar pressure and shear hinders the development of an effective foot ulcer prevention solution that could be potentially used in a daily living environment.

Foot and ankle characteristics associated with fear of falling and mobility in community-dwelling older people: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Fear of falling is multifactorial in etiology and is associated with falls. It has been demonstrated that foot problems increase the risk of falls in older people. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the associations of foot and ankle characteristics with fear of falling and mobility in community-dwelling older people.

Designing a robust controller for a lower limb exoskeleton to treat an individual with crouch gait pattern in the presence of actuator saturation.

Crouch gait is a gait anomaly observed in youngsters with cerebral palsy (CP). Rehabilitation robots are useful for treating individuals with crouch gait. Multiple factors have impact on crouch, including contracture, spasticity, weak motor control, and muscle feebleness, which make the designing and controlling of these exoskeletons for this population a challenging job.

Foot and ankle biomechanics during walking in older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.

Background: The foot and ankle complex undergoes significant structural and functional changes with advancing age.

Research Question: The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to synthesize and critique the research literature pertaining to foot and ankle biomechanics while walking in young and older adults.

Methods: Electronic databases (Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus and Embase) were searched from inception to April 2019 for cross-sectional studies which compared kinematics, kinetics and plantar pressure differences between young and older adults.

Structural and functional foot and ankle characteristics associated with falls in older people.

Background: Falls affect approximately one in three older people, and foot problems are amongst the modifiable potential risk factors.

Research Question: what are the associations between foot and ankle functional and structural characteristics with falls in community-dwelling older adults?

Method: One hundred eighty-seven community-dwelling older adults (106 females) aged 62-90 years (mean 70.5 ± 5.

Effects of metatarsal domes on plantar pressures in older people with a history of forefoot pain.

Background: Forefoot pads such as metatarsal domes are commonly used in clinical practice for the treatment of pressure-related forefoot pain, however evidence for their effects is inconsistent. This study aimed to evaluate the effects on plantar pressures of metatarsal domes in different positions relative to the metatarsal heads.

Methods: Participants in this study included 36 community-dwelling adults aged 65 or older with a history of forefoot pain.

Lower limb kinematics in individuals with chronic low back pain during walking.

Several investigators have suggested the presence of a link between Chronic Low Back Pain (CLBP) and lower limbs kinematics that can contribute to functional limitations and disability. Moreover, CLBP has been connected to postural and structural asymmetry. Understanding the movement pattern of lower extremities and its asymmetry during walking can provide a basis for examination and rehabilitation in people with CLBP.

The Effect of Three Different Insoles on Ankle Movement Variability during Walking in Athletes with Functional Ankle Instability.

Background: Increased ankle movement variability has been reported in people with functional ankle instability (FAI). The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of textured insole, lateral wedge, and textured lateral wedge insole on ankle movement variability during walking in athletes with FAI.

Materials And Methods: Twenty-one athletes diagnosed with FAI participated in this before-after study.

An anatomically-based masking protocol for the assessment of in-shoe plantar pressure measurement of the forefoot.

Background: The area beneath the metatarsal heads is a common location of foot pain, which is often associated with high plantar pressures. Current plantar pressure assessment protocols focus mainly on the gross area of the forefoot with minimal attention paid to specific areas such as the metatarsal heads. The aim of this study was to develop and assess a new anatomically-based masking protocol that is clinically relevant to measure forefoot plantar pressure during shod conditions based on the anatomical positions of the metatarsal heads.

Foot posture is associated with plantar pressure during gait: A comparison of normal, planus and cavus feet.

Background: Variations in foot posture, such as pes planus (low medial longitudinal arch) or pes cavus (high medial longitudinal arch) are associated with some lower limb injuries. However, the mechanism that links foot posture to injury is not clear. Research question The aim of this study was to compare plantar pressure between healthy individuals with normal, planus or cavus feet.

Centre of pressure characteristics in normal, planus and cavus feet.

Background: The aim of this study was to compare centre of pressure (COP) characteristics between healthy adults with normal, planus or cavus feet who were allocated to groups based on reliable foot posture measurement techniques.

Methods: Ninety-two healthy adult participants (aged 18 to 45) were recruited and classified as either normal ( = 35), pes planus ( = 31) or pes cavus ( = 26) based on Foot Posture Index, Arch Index and normalised navicular height truncated measurements. Barefoot walking trials were conducted using an emed-x 400 plantar pressure system (Novel GmbH, Munich, Germany).

The influence of staff training and education on prosthetic and orthotic service quality: A scoping review.

Background: Education and training in prosthetics and orthotics typically comply with International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics standards based on three categories of prosthetic and orthotic professionals.

Objective: This scoping study sought to describe the evidence base available to answer the question, How are prosthetic and orthotic services influenced by the training of staff providing them?

Study Design: Scoping review.

Methods: A structured search of the peer-reviewed literature catalogued in major electronic databases yielded 3039 papers.

The influence of standards and clinical guidelines on prosthetic and orthotic service quality: a scoping review.

Objectives: Standards and guidelines are an integral part of prosthetic and orthotic service delivery in the developed world underpinned by an assumption that they lead to improved services. Implementing them has a cost, however, and that cost needs to be justified, particularly in resource-limited environments. This scoping review thus asks the question, "What is the evidence of the impact of standards and guidelines on service delivery outcomes in prosthetics and orthotics?"

Materials And Methods: A structured search of three electronic databases (Medline, Scopus and Web of Science) followed by manual searching of title, abstract and full text, yielded 29 articles.

The effect of dual tasking on foot kinematics in people with functional ankle instability.

Background: Some cases of repeated inversion ankle sprains are thought to have a neurological basis and are termed functional ankle instability (FAI). In addition to factors local to the ankle, such as loss of proprioception, cognitive demands have the ability to influence motor control and may increase the risk of repetitive lateral sprains.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of cognitive demand on foot kinematics in physically active people with functional ankle instability.

The effect of stroke on foot kinematics and the functional consequences.

Background: Although approximately one-third of stroke survivors suffer abnormal foot posture and this can influence mobility, there is very little objective information regarding the foot and ankle after stroke.

Objective: As part of a programme of research examining foot and ankle biomechanics after stroke, we investigated multi-planar kinematics and the relationship with function.

Methods: In a single assessment session, static foot posture (Foot Posture Index); mobility limitations (Walking Handicap Scale) and multi-segment foot and ankle kinematics during stance phase of walking were measured in 20 mobile chronic stroke survivors and 15 sex and age-matched healthy volunteers.

Rollover footwear affects lower limb biomechanics during walking.

Aim: To investigate the effect of rollover footwear on walking speed, metabolic cost of gait, lower limb kinematics, kinetics, EMG muscle activity and plantar pressure.

Methods: Twenty subjects (mean age-33.1 years, height-1.

The effect of rollover footwear on the rollover function of walking.

Background: Rollover footwear is assumed to provide an enhanced surface over which the body can roll more easily. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of rollover footwear on the rollover function of walking.

Methods: Twenty subjects walked in three conditions: (i) a MBT shoe (Masai Barefoot Technology) characterized by a stiff sole rounded in the anterior-posterior direction; (ii) alternative rollover shoe (a prototype of Scholl STARLIT) characterized by a stiff sole rounded in the anterior-posterior direction; (iii) a flat control shoe.

The formation of friction blisters on the foot: the development of a laboratory-based blister creation model.

Background/purpose: Friction blisters on the foot are a debilitating pathology that have an impact on activities of daily living and can severely impair function. The purpose of this study was to test the hypotheses that digital infrared thermographic imaging will reveal: 1) a correlation between load application to the skin and the creation of blisters, and 2) a correlation between thermographic readings and contact thermometric temperatures.

Methods: Apparatus was developed to cause the formation of heel blisters through controlled load application (70 kPa).

Foot posture after stroke: frequency, nature and clinical significance.

Objectives: Clinical convention suggests that foot posture and movements are adversely affected by stroke and cause walking difficulties but there is little objective data to support or refute these beliefs. This study explores static foot posture in people with stroke and their relationship to weakness and spasticity and walking limitations.

Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Early observations of the effects of lateral wedge orthoses on lower limb muscle length and potential for exacerbating spasticity.

Lateral wedge orthoses are often prescribed to correct varus deformity after stroke. Spasticity is implicated in varus deformity and is caused by velocity-related muscle length changes, so a lateral wedge may affect spasticity by manipulating foot and ankle kinematics which, in turn, may alter the length of these muscles. We sought to test this theory in healthy participants.