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The latest issue of Biomechanics has this short report: Orthoses, exercises improve flat feet in children
Quote:
Wearing orthoses and performing exercises improves the medial arch in the feet of children with hypotonia and flat foot dysfunction, suggested a poster presentation at the American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association's 2005 National Assembly in September.
The study's author, Charmayne Ross, DPTSc, physical therapy director at Dynamic Therapies in Arcadia, CA, assigned 37 children ages 18 months through five years to one of three groups: orthosis-exercise, whose 12 subjects were instructed to wear Cascade DAFO HotDog orthoses and to perform two sets of 10 heel lifts during twice-weekly physical therapy sessions; orthosis, whose 13 subjects also wore the orthoses but did no exercises; and a 12-subject control group that received no interventions. All study subjects had developmental difficulties, including autism and Down syndrome.
Arch index, velocity, step length, single limb support, and cadence were measured using the GAITRite Portable Walkway System at baseline and over a six-month period.
The orthosis group had significant arch index changes from baseline to six months, the orthosis-exercise group's arch results approached significance, and the control group's arches became worse. As to why the orthosis-exercise group did not see significant arch improvements, Ross pointed to the study's relatively small sample size and hypothesized that the children in that group may not have worn their orthoses enough. The other gait measures changed significantly for all three groups, although the orthosis and orthosis-exercise groups experienced greater changes.
"Physical therapy works," Ross said of the study's results. "Early intervention is worthwhile."
You right - but it was just a news report from Biomechanics and not data was given in the story, so we can not judge that statement
Small sample sizes are not necessarily a problem if the effect size was large (in fact if the effect size was large, it would be unethical to deny the control group the intervention).
__________________
Craig Payne
Department of Podiatry
La Trobe University
Melbourne, Australia http://www.latrobe.edu.au/podiatry
__________________________________________________ ___________________________________ God put me on this earth to accomplish a certain number of things - right now I am so far behind, I will never die.
The views expressed above are those of the author and not that of La Trobe University This is where I am, where are you?
Flatfeet in those with learning difficulties
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