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- Author or Editor: Stephen R. Lord x
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Foot problem assessments were performed on 135 community-dwelling older people in conjunction with clinical tests of balance and functional ability. Eighty-seven percent of the sample had at least one foot problem, and women had a higher prevalence than men of foot pain, hallux valgus, plantar hyperkeratosis, lesser digital deformity, and digital lesions. Postural sway did not differ between older people with and without each of these foot conditions. However, the presence of specific foot conditions impaired performance in a more challenging balance test and in some functional tests. In particular, older people with foot pain performed worse in a leaning balance test, stair ascent and descent, an alternate step-up test, and a timed six-meter walk. Furthermore, multiple regression analyses revealed that foot pain was a significant independent predictor of performance in each of these tests. These results show that the presence of foot problems, particularly foot pain, impairs balance and functional ability. As foot pain is amenable to treatment, podiatric intervention has the potential to improve mobility and independence in older people. (J Am Podiatr Med Assoc 91(5): 222-229, 2001)
Background:
Falls are common in older people and are associated with substantial health-care costs. A recent randomized controlled trial of a multifaceted podiatric medical intervention demonstrated a 36% reduction in the fall rate over 12 months. We evaluated the acceptability of and levels of satisfaction with this intervention in the older people who participated in the trial.
Methods:
Participants allocated to the intervention group (which included a home-based program of foot and ankle exercises, assistance with the purchase of safe footwear when necessary, and provision of prefabricated foot orthoses) completed a structured questionnaire 6 months after they had received the intervention. The questions addressed participants’ perceptions of their balance and foot and ankle strength, the perceived difficulty of the exercise program, and the degree of satisfaction with the footwear and orthoses provided.
Results:
Of 153 participants, 134 (87.6%) attended the 6-month follow-up assessment and completed the questionnaire. Most participants perceived improvements in balance (62.7%) and foot and ankle strength (74.6%) after 6 months of performing the exercises, and 86.6% considered the difficulty level of the exercises to be “about right.” Most participants reported that they were somewhat or very satisfied with the footwear (92.3%) and orthoses (81.6%) provided.
Conclusions:
The multifaceted podiatric medical intervention used in this trial was generally perceived to be beneficial and demonstrated high levels of satisfaction among participants. Further research is now required to evaluate the feasibility of implementing the intervention in a range of clinical practice settings. (J Am Podiatr Med Assoc 103(6): 457–464, 2013)
Background:
Slips are a common cause of falls, and nonslip socks have been marketed to prevent slips in older people. However, few studies have investigated the biomechanical and clinical effects of walking in nonslip socks. This study aimed to examine gait parameters in older people walking on a slippery surface wearing nonslip socks compared with standard sock and barefoot conditions.
Methods:
Fifteen older people completed five trials of the fast-paced Timed Up and Go test while barefoot and while wearing standard socks and nonslip socks. Kinematic data (step length, heel horizontal velocity at heel strike, and foot-floor angle at heel strike) and clinical data (total Timed Up and Go test time, total number of steps, number of steps in turn, and observed slips, trips, or falls) were collected.
Results:
Performance on the Timed Up and Go test did not differ between the barefoot and nonslip sock conditions; however, participants walked more slowly and took shorter steps when wearing standard socks. Participants rated nonslip socks to feel less slippery than barefoot and standard socks.
Conclusions:
Compared with wearing standard socks, wearing nonslip socks improves gait performance and may be beneficial in reducing the risk of slipping in older people. (J Am Podiatr Med Assoc 103(6): 471–479, 2013)
Lower-extremity problems are common in older people; however, the reliability of clinical tools used to assess foot and ankle characteristics has not been rigorously evaluated. This study evaluated the test–retest reliability of a battery of simple clinical tests of foot and ankle characteristics (tactile sensitivity of the first metatarsophalangeal joint, navicular height, foot length and width, hallux valgus severity, an overall foot problem score, ankle flexibility, ankle dorsiflexion strength, and foot pain) in 31 individuals (13 men and 18 women) aged 76 to 87 years recruited from the community. Three examiners performed the tests on two occasions approximately 2 weeks apart. Intraclass correlation coefficients and coefficients of variation were calculated for continuously scored tests, and the kappa statistic (κ) was used to determine the reliability of hallux valgus severity grading. All of the continuously scored tests had acceptable reliability (intraclass correlation coefficients of 0.64 to 0.98; coefficients of variation of 0.6% to 15.0%), as did hallux valgus severity grading (κ = 0.77; absolute percentage agreement, 84%). These simple clinical tests can now be used with confidence in clinical and research settings to provide reliable and functionally important information regarding foot and ankle characteristics in older people. (J Am Podiatr Med Assoc 93(5): 380-387, 2003)
