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The effect of aging on the hardness of foot sole skin: A preliminary study.
Periyasamy R, Anand S, Ammini AC.
Foot (Edinb). 2012 Feb 29

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Here we go again. So, they took:
"twenty-six healthy volunteers without foot problems [remember this, the subjects had no foot problems- Spooner], aged from 26 to 65 years, and examined them using shore meter".

They found:
"statistical significant (p<0.05; p<0.01; p<0.005) differences in hardness between age groups in hind foot, metatarsal heads (1st, 3rd & 5th) and big toe. Strong positive correlations between age and hardness of the foot sole were found at the big toe (r=0.57; p<0.005), 1st metatarsal head (r=0.567; p<0.00001), 3rd metatarsal head (r=0.565; p<0.00001), 5th metatarsal head (r=0.55; p<0.00001), and heel (r=0.59; p<0.0001)."

And concluded:
"The loss of compliance in the foot sole may be one of the factors responsible for the higher incidence of foot problems in aged people."

Hang on a minute. The subjects in your study were "without foot problems" yet some of them had increased hardness (innuendo intended). So once again: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gD3cYh5Pp1I No way. Reviewers need to put their foot down on this kind of thing (pun intended). "Philomath they know the lowdown". Too easy.

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Who? What? When? Why? Yeah? And? So? What?

"My mission drive is to open up my eyes, 'cause the wicked lies and all the sh!te you say..." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4NW5S1UTPQ

"Science is the antidote to the poison of enthusiasm and superstition."

......

Attached Images

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I see you girls checkin' out my trunks
I see you girls checkin' out the front of my trunks
I see you girls lookin' at my junk, then checkin' out my rump, then back to my sugarlumps

Being in a very positive frame of mind this morning I thought that rather than being cynically critical like the rest of you grumpy old men I would have a go at being helpful and try to produce a reasonable conclusion for the above study. You know, encourage them, pat them on the back, tell them how well they are doing.

Would you go along with:

"Reduction in the compliance of plantar skin (? and subcutaneous soft tissue) may be one indicator of age related reduction in tissue vitality."

What conclusion do you think can be drawn from the research?



Have a good day,

Bill

I am sooty about the ignorance but what does compliance means here?

In this case compliance means:

Displacement of a loaded structure per unit load

or

flexibility.

Hope that helps.

Bill

With reference to #5 above, does this refer to the famous glove puppet "Sooty" as operated by Mr Harry Corbett? Was Sooty, or indeed his partner in entertainment, "Sweep", invoved in the study under current discussion? I believe glove puppets do not necessarily have lower appendages and would thereby be spared from age-related "hardening" of the plantar skin. (With apologies to those who grew up outside the area covered by BBC Children's Television.)

Many thanks for your highly relevant response.

Sooty and Sweep were requested to join the above study but were unable to do so because of the reasons you highlighted.

However in declining the request they did add that they wished that they had been able to join the study as reduced compliance of plantar tissues would be much preferable to the years of puppet abuse they suffered on a daily basis.

What more can one add.

Bill

With reference to the beloved Childrens BBC characters, is there any reason why Sue's assistance in the study was not requested.

This particular study was published in 2012 and one would think that the glass ceiling for female involvement that existed in the 80s would have been negated. I think that this is a case of rampant and shameful sexism and I think that the authors of the study should bow their heads in shame.

Moreover, Sue was always the smartest of the 3(well, she was the only one that could talk!)

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I see you girls checkin' out my trunks
I see you girls checkin' out the front of my trunks
I see you girls lookin' at my junk, then checkin' out my rump, then back to my sugarlumps

Many thanks for bringing Sue's fate to our attention.

Did you read the article entitled "Who's Sue to Sue", in which the wholesale abuse throughout the puppet world was examined. Manipulation of puppets by their adult carers extends across the puppet world from string pupets through finger puppets to hand puppets.

In many ways the string puppets are the most fortunate or at least the least unfortunate as they simply have someone else pulling their strings. The psychological effects of the loss of independence which must be damaging enough. For finger puppets and hand puppets not only are their actions totally dictated by others but those who are entrusted with their care seem unable to keep their hands to themselves.

The casting couch was one thing but the fate of the hand puppet defies belief. The hand puppet is being interferred with 100% of the time. There is no relief, so to speak and even worse this ongoing abuse is scarsely hidden. Even the viewer is implicit in this relentless abomination. While he watches the smiling compliant puppet performing he knows that unspeakable things are going on under the table.

I have said nothing so far of the priapic podophallic stick puppet and perhaps his fate is best left to the imagination.

Bill

Most meaningless piece of research I have ever seen.

Hi Elizabeth,

I am not sure I would go as far as to call it 'meaningless'. OK the conclusions can't reasonably be reached from an analysis of the aims, results, etc of the study but as a 'preliminary study' it has a value.

Personally I would want to encourage them to take their work forward but to be more careful with their conclusions and to ensure that the same slipshod thinking didn't penetrate the rest of the study.

If the compliance of the plantar tissues changes with age it begs many interesting questions.

For example:

what structural changes have taken place in the tissues;

Why have these changes taken place;

What are the likely effects of these changes;

Can the changes be mitigated;

How is this relevant to podiatry;

Could it potentially lead to improvements in patient care?

Then again maybe I am being too generous. Ten seconds in front of a flame thrower would sharpen up their thinking!


have nice day.

Bill

I'm really most interested in making my patients feet comfortable. This is not helpful to anybody. I am quite open minded, but who funded this, how many hours were wasted on this research?

Reminds me of the terrible incident with the tub of yohimbine hydrochloride and the alcoholic fruit punch at the end of term party in George Rendall's flat in 1981. Still have lingering effects three decades on.....

Have to agree with Bill - the study may indeed have flaws but the subject matter is an important one for the profession.

Mark

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"citing an indisposition due to special circumstances"

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Hi Mark,

Go on then. Tell us about the tub of yohimbine hydrochloride and the alcoholic fruit punch at the end of term party a George Rendall's (where is George now?) flat. Nor forgetting the lingering effects? Chronic flatulence, diarrhoea, limp, impotence - the bog mindles!

Best wishes Bill

No chance - the Deil sups wi a lang spoon in Auld Reekie and the Beak is to be avoided at all costs! No idea where wee George is these days - reinforcing the defences for the Orcadians no doubt!

All the best

Mark

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www.mark-russell.net

"citing an indisposition due to special circumstances"

My location