1/10. Effects of a tendo-Achilles lengthening procedure on muscle function and gait characteristics in a patient with diabetes mellitus.STUDY DESIGN: Case report with repeated measures. OBJECTIVES: To describe the effects of a tendo-Achilles lengthening (TAL) and total contact casting (TCC) on wound healing, motion, plantar pressure, and function in a patient with diabetes mellitus, peripheral neuropathy, neuropathic ulcer, and limited dorsiflexion range of motion (DFROM). BACKGROUND: Limited DFROM has been associated with increased forefoot pressures and skin breakdown. A TAL was expected to increase DFROM and reduce forefoot pressures during walking, but the influence on muscle performance and function was unknown. methods AND MEASURES: The patient was a 42-year-old man with a 20-year history of type 1 diabetes (NIDDM) and a recurrent neuropathic plantar ulcer. Outcome measures were DFROM, isokinetic plantar flexor muscle peak torque, in-shoe and barefoot peak plantar pressure, physical performance test (PPT) score, and peak ankle and hip moments during walking obtained from an automated gait analysis. All tests were completed pre-TAL, 8 weeks post-TAL (after immobilization in a TCC), and 7 months post-TAL. RESULTS: The wound healed in 40 days. The TAL resulted in a sustained increase in DFROM (0 to 18 degrees). Plantar flexor peak torque was reduced by 21% 8 weeks after the TAL compared with the torque before surgery but recovered fully at 7 months. Seven months following TAL, in-shoe forefoot peak plantar pressure was reduced by 55%, barefoot pressure decreased by 14%, PPT score increased by 24%, peak ankle plantar flexor moment remained decreased by 30%, and the peak hip flexor moment increased by 41% during walking. CONCLUSION: For this patient, a TAL resulted in short-term deficits in peak plantar flexor torque, but a 7-month follow-up showed improvements in ankle DFROM, walking ability, and a decrease in forefoot in-shoe peak plantar pressure.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/10. One pair must last a lifetime. Case studies of foot care in diabetes.Neuropathy is the second most important of the four major 'traffic light' warnings for future foot problems (vascular, neuropathy, structural, self care). Peripheral neuropathy is a significant clinical problem in 20% of patients with diabetes. Painful neuropathy can disrupt patients lives but simple effective interventions are available. Painless neuropathy is often not perceived to be a problem by the patient or their doctor but puts the foot at risk from trauma (physical, chemical and thermal). patients with neuropathy need systematic reassessment of self and professional diabetes care, and education about footwear and foot care. A podiatrist can be invaluable in prescribing appropriate footwear and orthotics to distribute foot pressure and in educating patients about self care. patients with the 'double whammy' of neuropathy and vascular disease are at extreme risk of limb threatening problems and should have a regular monitoring program by themselves (or their carers) and their professionals as well as an 'action plan' to detect and deal with problems early.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/10. depression and chronic diabetic foot disability. A case report of suicide.Evidence at the scene of death and the postmortem examination led the pathologist to conclude suicide by intentional insulin overdose. The examination was conducted one day after the patient's death. The amount of insulin injected is not known, but levels of insulin in the vitreous gel were extremely high. While glucose and insulin are more stable in vitreous than in postmortem blood, the longer the delay between death and sample collection, the greater the uncertainty of the exact concentrations of substances at the time of death [42]. patients with diabetes may have at their disposal the resources to end their lives; misuse of insulin and suicide by insulin overdose are presumably underreported events. Not only do diabetics have insulin available, but they may also have narcotics, tricyclic antidepressants or other drugs that are toxic at high doses. Even in the absence of depression, all patients with diabetes face multiple emotional issues related to the diagnosis and course of the disease. Diabetes often requires significant lifestyle changes, such as diet and physical activity, upon its diagnosis. patients face the possibility of long-term, possibly debilitating, complications: vision loss, sexual dysfunction, and amputation. Any podiatrist who treats a large number of diabetic patients will encounter the situation of a patient at risk of losing a limb. A patient may consciously or unconsciously view amputation as punishment; limb loss interferes physically with bodily function and has extensive emotional consequences as well. It is important for patients to be involved with a healthcare team (including primary care physician, nurse educator, ophthalmologist, and podiatrist) that provides support throughout their lives [3]. As learned early on in podiatry school, podiatric physicians don't treat feet; they treat patients who have foot problems. It is as important to know when to refer a patient to the primary care physician or a psychiatrist for mental health complaints as it is to know when to refer a patient to an orthopedic surgeon for hip pain or to an ophthalmologist for vision problems. We do not propose that this patient's diabetic foot disease was the direct cause of his depression and suicide; however, the prevalence of depression in the general population and its even higher rates in patients with chronic medical illness require awareness of these problems by all members of the medical profession.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/10. Complementary therapy in chronic wound management: a holistic caring case study and praxis model.Holistic caring consists of providing care to each aspect of a patient's life through the use of therapeutic caring and complementary or alternative healing modalities. Since nursing consists of caring for the whole person and not just the disease process, consideration of a patient's physical, emotional, social, economic, spiritual, and cultural needs is necessary in dealing with any chronic health problem such as chronic wounds. In this model case studies presentation, the purpose of this article is to discuss the importance of the holistic caring approach and the use of complementary and alternative medicine or therapeutic modalities in chronic wound management. The use or role of theory in practice will also be discussed to emphasize the holistic caring praxis model used in the holistic assessment and holistic plan of care for the cases presented. This article also presents a framework that will help wound care and holistic nurses move from simply the positivist-modernist philosophy to begin to embrace the postmodernist philosophy.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/10. communication barriers when managing a patient with a wound.The management of a wound can prove challenging to the nurse when the needs of a patient are complex and there are barriers to overcome. This case study discusses the methods used by a community nurse when considering some of the problems that presented as a result of communication difficulties with a patient. The use of a wound assessment tool proved valuable when collecting and organizing information and the importance of gaining adequate information at assessment is outline. The article shows how communication impacts on the quality of care given, and how it affects the experiences of both nurse and patients, especially when the psychological and physical aspects of care are both equally demanding. The need for nurse and patient to work in concordance is reflected on as one of the lessons learnt from this case study.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/10. The management of lower extremity wounds complicated by acute arterial insufficiency and ischemia.Although wound care therapy has made significant advances in the past several years, clinicians encounter dilemmas on a day-to-day basis. One of these dilemmas is managing ischemic wounds. Certain characteristics (ischemic appearance, a history of a lack of healing, physical examination that finds no pulses, or a transcutaneous oxygen evaluation to suggest tissue hypoxia) will identify the wound as hypoxic or related to arterial disease. The clinician faces several decisions: Should an arteriogram be performed? Should an MRI or ABIs be ordered? Is a vascular surgery consult necessary? In response to this area of diagnostic and management conflict, the authors developed an algorithm for the treatment of patients with ischemic wounds. This article addresses the management of wounds primarily caused by peripheral arterial occlusive disease and includes discussion of the initial wound care consult, the factors that identify and classify patients with arterial wounds, and a description of how transcutaneous oximetry is used to evaluate this subgroup of patients. In addition, the concept of the Vascular Center is introduced and explained, including arterial vascular consultation and evaluation, arterial vascular anatomy, and noninvasive vascular studies that are important tools in the Vascular Center, as well as endovascular interventions such as arteriography, angioplasty and arterial stenting. The basics of arterial revascularization, the use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy to manage the patients with ischemic wounds, and outcome data from a case study illustrating the management algorithm utilized at the authors' facility also are presented.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/10. Relationship between changes in activity and plantar ulcer recurrence in a patient with diabetes mellitus.BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Although pressure-reducing interventions have been effective in the healing of neuropathic foot ulcers, these ulcers frequently recur in people with diabetes mellitus (DM). This case report illustrates how sudden changes in weight-bearing activity may have affected ulcer recurrence in a patient with DM and how the physical stress theory (PST) relates to ulcer recurrence for this patient. CASE DESCRIPTION: The patient was a 66-year-old man with a history of DM, peripheral neuropathy, and recurrent plantar ulcers. His plantar ulcer healed after total contact casting. OUTCOME: Despite relatively low peak plantar pressure (9.3 N/cm(2)), the patient's ulcer recurred within 4 weeks of healing. Plantar pressure assessment and activity monitoring suggested that a rapid and sudden increase in weight-bearing activity (steps per day) contributed to cumulative plantar tissue stress that was 3.3 times higher on the day of ulcer recurrence than his average value. Although his cumulative plantar stress was high compared with his usual value, the cumulative value was similar to the amount of daily stress of individuals without a history of recurrent ulcers. DISCUSSION: Within the context of the PST, rapid change in activity level may have an effect on cumulative stress and the risk of ulcer recurrence.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/10. Limb deficiency and prosthetic management. 2. aging with limb loss.This self-directed learning module highlights the issues faced by people aging with limb loss. It is part of the study guide on limb deficiency and vascular rehabilitation in the Self-Directed Physiatric education Program for practitioners and trainees in physical medicine and rehabilitation. This article specifically focuses on the impact that limb loss has on health and physical function throughout the life span. Case examples are used to illustrate what effect limb loss in childhood or young adulthood has on the incidence and management of new impairments or disease processes commonly associated with aging. overall Article Objective: To discuss the impact of early-life limb loss on the incidence and management of physiologic and functional changes associated with aging.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/10. Use of an in-shoe pressure measurement system in the management of patients with neuropathic ulcers or metatarsalgia.Many injuries to the foot appear to be caused by repeated, excessive plantar pressures. In-shoe pressure systems are capable of measuring pressures at the interface between the shoe or orthotic and the plantar foot during a given functional activity. The purpose of this article is to describe the use of an in-shoe pressure system as a tool to aid physical therapists in the management of patients with foot problems as a result of excessive plantar pressures. Case histories are provided that describe the application of an in-shoe pressure device in the management of one patient with a neuropathic ulcer and one patient with metatarsalgia. A discussion of the primary clinical and equipment considerations of using this type of device is included.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/10. Bacterial discitis caused by limb gangrene requiring below-knee amputation.Two patients presented with disabling back pain and were unable to participate in physical therapy activities after being admitted to an acute rehabilitation center. Both patients had bacterial discitis of the lumbar spine that was apparently caused by infected ischemic limb tissue, ultimately removed at below-knee amputation. The literature describes many cases of bacterial discitis infected from many sources, but not from ischemic limb tissue requiring subsequent amputation. Many such cases may exist, however, and earlier recognition of this condition will enable appropriate treatment before vertebral destruction and/or neurological sequelae.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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