Size of the abductor hallucis muscle in older women with hallux valgus

Abstract of paper that was presented at the 4th Congress of the International Foot and Ankle Biomechanics (i-FAB) Community Busan, Korea, 8-11 April 2014

International Foot and Ankle Biomechanics Community (i-FAB): past, present and beyond

The International Foot and Ankle Biomechanics Community (i-FAB) is an international collaborative activity which will have an important impact on the foot and ankle biomechanics community. It was launched on July 2nd 2007 at the foot and ankle session of the International Society of Biomechanics (ISB) meeting in Taipei, Taiwan. i-FAB is driven by the desire to improve our understanding of foot and ankle biomechanics as it applies to health, disease, and the design,development and evaluation of foot and ankle surgery, and interventions such as footwear, insoles and surfaces

Systematic review of the psychometric properties of patient-reported outcome measures for foot and ankle in rheumatoid arthritis

Background Foot problems and pain are common in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Patient-reported outcome measures provide a standardized method of capturing patients’ perspectives of their functional status and wellbeing. There are many instruments specific to people with feet affected by rheumatoid arthritis but knowledge of their psychometric validation or methodological quality is lacking Objectives To identify patient-reported outcome measures specific to the foot and ankle and rheumatoid arthritis and investigate their methodological quality and psychometric properties Design Systematic review. Data source : A search was conducted for psychometric or validation studies on patient-reported outcomes in Rheumatoid Arthritis published in different languages, by examining the Pubmed; Scopus, CINAHL; PEDro and Google Scholar databases. Review methods . The systematic review performed was based on the following inclusion criteria: psychometric or clinimetric validation studies on patient-reported outcomes specific to the foot and ankle that included patients with Rheumatoid arthritis. Two authors independently assessed the quality of the studies and extracted datas Results Of the initial 431 studies, fourteen instruments met the inclusion criteria. Significant methodological flaws were detected in most with only SEFAS met the COSMIN quality criteria. Conclusion SEFAS had the best quality and was ranked most appropriate for use with patients living with Rheumatoid Arthriti

Size of the abductor hallucis muscle in older women with hallux valgus

Toe deformities are highly prevalent in older people with up to 74% of older men and women having some degree of hallux valgus [1]. Despite the well documented hypotheses that atrophied, or weak toe flexor muscles are associated with the formation of toe deformities [2], there has been little evidence to support this theory. Only one study has directly compared the toe flexor strength of individuals with toe deformities to those without, revealing that older people with hallux valgus have reduced hallux strength compared to those without the deformity [3]. Therefore, to further investigate the pathomechanics of hallux valgus, this study aimed to determine whether the size of the abductor hallucis muscle differed in older women with and without hallux valgus deformity

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. Results Compared to the healthy volunteers, the stroke survivors demonstrated consistently reduced range of motion across most segments and planes, increased pronation and reduced supination, disruption of the rocker and the timing of joint motion. Changes in pronation/supination were associated with limited walking ability. Conclusions This study provides evidence of structural and movement deficiencies in the intrinsic foot segments affected by stroke. These would not have been detectable using a single segment foot model. Data do not support common clinical practices that focus on correction of sagittal ankle deformity and assumed excessive foot supination. Some of these abnormalities were associated with limitation in functional ability. Biomechanical abnormalities of foot and ankle are modifiable and there is potential for clinical studies and future developments of interventions to help prevent or treat these abnormalities which may improve functional ability post stroke

Reliability of ultrasound to measure morphology of the toe flexor muscles

Measuring the strength of individual foot muscles is very challenging; however, measuring muscle morphology has been shown to be associated with strength [1]. A reliable method of assessing foot muscle atrophy and hypertrophy would therefore be beneficial to researchers and clinicians. Real-time ultrasound (US) is a non-invasive, objective and inexpensive method of assessing muscle morphology and has been employed widely to quantify cross-sectional area (CSA) and linear dimensions of larger muscles (e.g. quadriceps, triceps surae). Few studies, however, have determined its ability to measure the small muscles of the foot and ankle. This study aimed to determine whether US is a reliable tool to measure the morphology of the toe flexor muscles