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A Non-exhaustive Analysis Could Include: Vestibular Disorders Arising From ...

A non-exhaustive analysis could include:

Vestibular disorders arising from the inner ear (vertigo)
Central nervous system disorders including lesions or disease processes in the brain that cause muscular problems resulting in gait disturbance such as encephalitis, multiple sclerosis and cerebral palsy
Spinal cord lesions (disease, trauma, degeneration)
Peripheral nerve damage or disease resulting in an inability to provide motor stimuli to muscles or to receive proprioceptive impulses.
Degenerative muscle diseases including muscular dystrophy and myositis
Neurodegenerative illnesses such as Parkinson's Disease and Alzheimer's disease
Skeletal abnormalities and disease congenital or acquired
Arthritis - many varieties
Foot conditions Ulcers, pain from acute lesions, bunions, structural abnormalities
Toxic reactions (alcohol, drugs, allergens)
(after Robertson D G E et al. 2004)

Relate the gait cycle to common mechanical therapies such as clinical padding and foot orthoses, demonstrating an in-depth knowledge of contra-indications to the prescription of foot orthoses.
Padding and Strapping.
Padding is commonly used in a number of podiatric conditions. Examination of the literature shows a marked paucity of analytical papers on the subject and therefore it is difficult to establish a firm evidence base for practice.

Conditions such as metatarsal, dropped metatarsals, hallux valgus, excessive callusing can all be benefited by the use of padding to either reduce pressure on certain portions of the foot or to lift and spread the metatarsal arch and thereby recreate the proper anatomical alignment of the metatarsal arch.

Padding can also be used to differentially redistribute weight on the sole of the foot. Padding is often used to alleviate the pain from a calcaneal spur. By allowing the weight bearing area of the heel to avoid direct pressure on the main site of inflammation, one can often reduce both the pain levels and the time taken to achieve resolution.

Strapping appears to have even less of a secure evidence base but appears to be generally accepted as an important adjunct to other types of podiatric treatment. Some authorities suggest that it is both therapeutic and diagnostic since the response can indicate the effectiveness of both treatment and initial diagnosis. Its prime use is in the arena of sports based podiatry and can be used to try to prevent abnormal degrees of movement to either correct anatomical or functional problems or to assist in limiting excessive degrees of movement that may be secondary to injury. Taping can also increase the proprioceptive feedback to the central nervous system. (Saxena A 2003).


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