Blog

• Bio-Inspired Robotic Device Could Aid Ankle-Foot Rehabilitation

  Posted on: 20 December, 2016

  Source - ScienceDaily

  A soft, wearable device that mimics the muscles, tendons and ligaments of the lower leg could aid in the rehabilitation of patients with ankle-foot disorders such as drop foot, said Yong-Lae Park, an assistant professor of robotics at Carnegie Mellon University.

  Park, working with collaborators at Harvard University, the University of Southern California, MIT and BioSensics, developed an active orthotic device using soft plastics and composite materials, instead of a rigid exoskeleton. The soft materials, combined with pneumatic artificial muscles (PAMs), lightweight sensors and advanced control software, made it possible for the robotic device to achieve natural motions in the ankle.

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• Study: Patients with femoral neck fractures have more complications after uncemented hemiarthroplasty

  Posted on: 20 December, 2016

  Source - Healio

  The use of uncemented hemiarthroplasty is associated with more hip reoperations and mechanical complications for patients with femoral neck fractures compared to patients who are treated using cemented hemiarthroplasty, according to a recently published data.

  Using the PERFECT database, researchers identified 25,174 patients in Finland who were treated with hemiarthroplasty (HA) for a femoral neck fracture from 1999 to 2009. Using the unique personal identification number of each patient, data on comorbidities, the use of residential care and deaths in this population were extracted from the Finnish Health Care Register. Primary outcome measures included mortality, while secondary outcomes included reoperations, complications, readmissions and treatment times.

  Researchers found patients who have an uncemented HA showed lower postoperative mortality during the first postoperative days. However, there were no significant differences in mortality for the patients at 1 week and 1 year after surgery. Patients treated with uncemented HA showed more mechanical complications, re-arthroplasties and femoral fracture operations during the first 3 months after surgery.

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• Program allows young visitors to experience orthopaedics up close

  Posted on: 20 December, 2016

  Source - UT Southwestern Medical Center

  Less than 7 percent of orthopaedic surgeons in the U.S. are women, according to data from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. It is a statistic that Dr. Katherine Coyner, Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center, is trying to change.

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• Painful Frozen Shoulder Generally Resolves, But Return To Mobility Takes Time

  Posted on: 20 December, 2016

  Source - The Vancouver Sun

  Nearly a decade has passed since Lynne Robson's first encounter with frozen shoulder. But she remembers in exquisite detail the limitations it imposed and the pain it caused her.

  Pulling on a winter coat was excruciating. Robson could only wear clothing with front closures, because reaching behind her back to hook a bra, for instance, required a range of movement she no longer had. Blow-drying her hair — pretty much a requirement for a TV reporter, which Robson was at the time — was impossibility.

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• Rotator Cuff Tears

  Posted on: 20 December, 2016

  Source - Medical Observer

  This Update looks at the anatomy, assessment and management of rotator cuff tears.

  The rotator cuff is a set of tendons that surround the humeral head and seat the head in the glenoid which in turn allows overhead function. They are crucial tendons and commonly injured. The most commonly injured of the four tendons is the supraspinatus, particularly, at its insertion into the greater tuberosity on the humeral head.

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• How To Know If Shoulder Pain Might Be Rotator Cuff Disease

  Posted on: 20 December, 2016

  Source - Medscape

  A positive painful arc test and a positive external rotation resistance test in a patient with shoulder pain has a high likelihood of being rotator cuff disease (RCD). And a positive lag test (external or internal rotation) likely means a full-thickness rotator cuff tear.

  That's according to a meta-analytic review of relevant studies. Dr. Job Hermans from Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands and colleagues say they did the analysis to identify the most accurate clinical examination findings for RCD.

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• Combating Sports-Related Concussions: New Device Accurately And Objectively Diagnoses Concussions From The Sidelines

  Posted on: 20 December, 2016

  Source - Science daily

  In the United States there are millions of sports-related concussions each year, but many go undiagnosed because for some athletes, the fear of being benched trumps the fear of permanent brain damage, and there is no objective test available to accurately diagnose concussions on the sidelines. Balance tests are a primary method used to detect concussion. The current means of scoring these tests relies on the skill of athletic trainers to visually determine whether or not a concussion has occurred.

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• Women More Likely To Tear ACL Due To 'Knock Knees'

  Posted on: 20 December, 2016

  Source - Medical News Today

  Researchers say that women are nearly four times more likely to suffer from a tear to the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) in the knee than men, but that it may be prevented by a different "landing strategy."

  ACL injuries are defined as a tearing of the anterior cruciate ligament inside the knee joint. The injury causes the knee to swell, and the joint becomes too painful to bear weight.

  These injuries are very common in sports where the participants are required to do many "jump stops and cuts." This includes basketball, soccer, tennis and volleyball.

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• Surgeons Successfully Use Suture Bridge Technique For Achilles Tendon Reattachment

  Posted on: 20 December, 2016

  Source - Healio

  A suture bridge technique with bone anchors to reattach the Achilles tendon in cases of insertional Achilles tendinosis resulted in no postoperative ruptures at the 24-month follow-up. Ninety-seven percent of patients successfully performed the single heel rise test at the final postoperative visit.

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• Running is in the knees and ankles

  Posted on: 20 December, 2016

  Source - DailyRx.com

  A lot of hardcore runners have proper running form on the mind. Another concern they may have is foot posture. Does foot posture make a difference in staying injury-free?

  A recent study found that runners with pronated feet, or feet that fall slightly inward towards the middle of the body, were less likely to get injured while running than people with other kinds of feet.

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