Objective: Potential pain relief from foot pain can come from a shoe insert foot orthotic. This study assessed foot pressure distribution and balance in off the shelf foot orthotics versus a custom made foot orthotic compared to no orthotic. Methods: The subjects (8) were both men and women. The average age was 25.1 ± 2.8 years, the average weight was 68.8 ± 13.7 kg, and BMI 24.5 ± 6.4. Each pa...

Current Opinion in Rheumatology 2008, 20:353–359 Key points (1) Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, systemic inflammatory disease of the periphera joints that causes painful disability and reduces patients’ physical function, with a substantial negative impact on health-related quality of life (HRQL). (2) Exercise therapy, including aerobic or strengthening exercises, and orthotic devices are ut...

BACKGROUND Foot orthoses have been advocated in the management of a wide range of clinical foot and lower limb problems and are within the scope of podiatry, orthotic and physiotherapy practice. Previous reports into the provision of orthoses have consistently identified significant issues with services and devices, but data were never specific to foot orthoses. The aim of this first of a serie...

Fifty patients with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy were included in this retrospective study which compared visual assessment of gait to three-dimensional (3D) gait analysis. Inter-observer variability was evaluated as well. Inclusion criteria comprehended independent ambulation (i.e. without assistive devices or orthoses). All subjects went through 3D gait analysis at the Gait Analysis Labora...

BACKGROUND Wearable sensors gather data that machine-learning models can convert into an identification of physical activities, a clinically relevant outcome measure. However, when individuals with disabilities upgrade to a new walking assistive device, their gait patterns can change, which could affect the accuracy of activity recognition. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to assess ...

The Easy Strutter Functional Orthosis System (ESFOS) was designed to improve assistive device ambulatory efficiency. This crossover design study compared the ESFOS to axillary crutches during modified 3-point gait. Thirty-eight subjects (40-65 years of age) at > 1 year after unilateral total knee or hip replacement participated in this study. Heart rate, mean peak palmar and plantar force magni...

BACKGROUND In-shoe foot orthoses improve conditions such as plantar heel pain (fasciitis), probably due to their ability to raise the medial longitudinal arch of the foot and lower the stress on the plantar tissues. Increasingly the arch-profile form of the in-shoe foot orthosis is being incorporated into sandal footwear, providing an alternative footwear option for those who require an orthosi...

This study examined the use of a bidirectional, patient-directed orthosis that used the principles of static progressive stress to improve forearm rotation. Thirty-eight patients who had limited pronation and supination motions after injuries and who failed other physical therapy techniques underwent a 30- to 60-minute stretching protocol with the orthosis one to three times per day. The mean a...