foot & ankle – SEMS-journal

sports injury foot & ankle sports physiotherapy muscle

Foot core strengthening: relevance in injury prevention and rehabilitation for runners

The human foot is a flexible structure characterized by a pronounced medial longitudinal arch (MLA) that compresses and recoils during running. That process is actively driven by the intrinsic foot muscles and requires a proper stability of the MLA. This introduces the concept of foot core stability. Because the intrinsic foot muscles are often neglected by clinicians and researchers, the purpose of this article is to provide some guidelines for incorporating foot core training in prevention or rehabilitation programmes for runners.

sports injury foot & ankle tendon sports physiotherapy

Rare tendon pathologies at the foot level

While lesions of the achilles tendon and posterior tibial tendon are common and well known, lesions of other ankle bridging tendons are rare and literature is sparse. However, many of these lesions are equally relevant in terms of maintaining the complex functionality of the foot. Such pathologies include tendinitis, tenosynovitis as well as partial and complete tears. If the continuity of the affected tendon is maintained, conservative treatment is appropriate. In cases of ruptures, operative therapy is often needed. Depending on the defect size and retraction of the tendon, auto- or allograft have to be used.

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Responsiveness of the Star Excursion Balance Test on Firm and Unstable Underground

Objectives: To evaluate the responsiveness of the classic Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT) and of a modified version performed on a soft surface (Airex Balance-Pad). The classic Star Excursion Balance Test is widely used in persons with chronic ankle instability. For the use in healthy athletes, the test can be made more difficult by performing it on a soft surface. Design: Pre-post study with balance assessment before and after a five-week intervention. Setting and participants: A convenience sample of 28 healthy adults performed both SEBT variants at baseline and after five weeks (9 sessions) of sensorimotor and strength training.

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Use of Platelet-rich Plasma for the Treatment of Patellar and Achilles Tendinopathies

The purpose of this study was to retrospectively evaluate the effectiveness of Platelet-Rich Plasma Injection (PRP) for Achilles and patellar tendinopathy refractory to conventional conservative treatments. For this, we compared the data from 34 patients treated with one or two injections of PRP. Pain, functional ability, athletic recovery and satisfaction of patients were evaluated.