Pedorthics - November 2019
Feature
The Evolution of Pedorthic Education
By Maria St. Louis-Sanchez
New educational standards planned for future pedorthists would help them better serve their patients and, some pedorthists hope, help them remain credible in the medical community. The requirements will likely mean that the process required to...
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Amputation Following Diabetic Foot Disease: To Be Feared or Welcomed?
By Phil Stevens, MEd, CPO, FAAOP
As a part of the human experience, the concept of fear has been explored across the ages. Among the fathers of philosophy, Plato concluded that "courage is knowing what not to fear," while Aristotle opined that "he who has overcome his fears will...
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Patterns, Algorithms, and Designs—Revisiting Rotary Deformities
By John T. Brinkmann, MA, CPO/L, FAAOP(D), and Deanna Fish, MS, CPO
Clinical tasks performed by prosthetists and orthotists on a daily basis require an in-depth and nuanced understanding of the interaction of diverse physiological, anatomical, biomechanical, and psychosocial factors. The varied ways in which these...
More...Stepping Out
Anterior Cavus and Pseudoequinus
By Séamus Kennedy, BEng (Mech), CPedC
The simplest classification of foot type is to distinguish between a flat foot and one with a high arch. Pes planus, common in the general population, is characterized by a low or flat arch. It may be free of symptoms or associated with...
More...Today's Consumer
Ray O’Donnell: Army Major Thrives With Advanced Brace Solution
By Tara McMeekin
Army Maj. Raymond W. O'Donnell is the embodiment of the phrase, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." In August 2007, he was serving in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, as an embedded advisor to the Afghan National Polic...
More...Perspective
2015 Draft LCD Causing Current Denials
By William Lifford, CP
You may have recently seen a sudden uptick in denials for L-5645 (flexible inner socket with rigid outer frame). Most of the practitioners I know have been flooded with them of late. The denials say that L-5645 is considered duplicative of L-5673...
More...On Topic
Lessons Learned From Competitive Bidding
By Erin Cammarata
Competitive bidding has been a hot topic for years. When we first started hearing about competitive bidding, we were able to dismiss it easily as we thought it wasn't going to have a big impact on O&P directly (or at least not for a while). Fast f...
More...Industry Review - Associations and Conferences
AOPA: Driving the Waves of Change
By Betta Ferrendelli
More than 2,400 orthotic, prosthetic, and pedorthic professionals from 20 countries traveled to San Diego to attend the 102nd American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association (AOPA) National Assembly September 25-28. Opening day began with AOPA recognizing the wi...
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Editor's Note - November 2019
By Andrea Spridgen
While the average person may give little thought to the human foot, it is extremely complex with 26 bones, 33 joints, 20 muscles, and 57 ligaments that all must work in harmony for comfortable, effective, pain-free locomotion. However, those in O...
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