Category Archives: Issues

Measures of ankle weakness reveal varied CMT gait patterns: Gait profile should guide orthotic design

Gait-pattern classification derived from functional measures of ankle weakness can be used to assess progression of Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease and to guide clinical decision-making about treatment strategies, such as orthotic design and…

By Keith Loria

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Posted in February, Pediatric Clinical News, 2018 | Leave a comment

Update: Orthotic care and physical therapy for DMD

Lower extremity interventions can help boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) stay ambulatory for years—and improve outcomes in the condition’s nonambulatory phase.  Devices can address con­tractures and other issues, while stretching programs are key to maintaining flexibility.

By Hank Black

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Posted in Pediatric Feature, February, 2018 | Leave a comment

Media, toys, and games for kids with disabilities

Children use toys and media characters to spark their imaginations and cast themselves as the star of their own stories. Through play, they connect with other kids and dream about their future. Options are few, however, for kids who wear a device or otherwise look “different” to see themselves reflected during play.

By Jill R. Dorson

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Posted in Pediatric Feature, February, 2018 | Leave a comment

Wearing textured insoles in walking shoes improves ballet dancers’ balance: Benefits accrue despite injury history

Textured insoles worn in walking shoes can improve the dynamic postural balance of young ballet dancers both with and without previous injury, according to study data from Canberra, Australia, which also suggested textured insoles can be useful as a routine intervention.

By Katie Bell

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Posted in November, Pediatric Clinical News, 2017 | Leave a comment

Preteen tennis players prefer roomier footwear than adults: Widest shoes rated most comfortable

Young male tennis players prefer a wider shoe with more interior volume, while upper stiffness matters less, according to a new study from France that correlated the players’ perceptions of comfort with measurements taken with innovative textile pressure sensors.

By Hank Black

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Posted in Pediatric Clinical News, 2017, November | Leave a comment

Cutting edge: Treatment for kids goes high tech

From a skateboard-like motion-sensing device that helps infants with CP learn to crawl to powered exoskeletons that sync with muscles to new advanced-imaging views of motor and sensory processing, technology for pediatric care is on the move. Here are some of the highlights.

By Hank Black

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Posted in Pediatric Feature, November, 2017 | Leave a comment

Firm foundation: Better balance for young patients

Children with neurological conditions often have balance issues, and healthy kids can struggle, too. Interventions should be tail­ored to their short attention spans and need for feedback, and include devices that improve alignment and stability and training to enhance strength and equilibrium.

By P.K. Daniel

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Posted in Pediatric Feature, November, 2017 | Leave a comment

Dyslexia affects ability to adjust to impaired sensory feedback

Kids struggle to maintain balance – Children with dyslexia are unable to compensate with other available inputs when sensory feedback to the soles of their feet, their vision, or both is less informative, resulting in poor postural stability, according to research from Paris, France, which may have implications in training to help these children improve their use of sensory inputs.

By Katie Bell

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Posted in August, Pediatric Clinical News, 2017 | Leave a comment

Parents say comfort, easy use are clubfoot compliance keys

All devices present challenges – A recently developed pediatric orthosis for Ponseti night bracing received positive ratings from parents in a small Swedish study of children with idiopathic clubfoot who had compliance problems or relapse with one of two earlier bracing devices, a foot abduction brace (FAB) or a dynamic knee ankle foot orthosis (KAFO).

By Hank Black

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Posted in 2017, August, Pediatric Clinical News | Leave a comment

Weak hip extensors contribute to ankle sprains in soccer players      

Findings support use of strengthening – Hip strengthening may be as important for preventing lateral ankle sprains in youth soccer players as it is in adults, according to a recent Belgian study.

By Jill R. Dorson

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Posted in August, Pediatric Clinical News, 2017 | Leave a comment