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The Foot 21 (2011) 52–54

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

The Foot

journa l homepage: www.e lsev ier .com/ locate / foot

esearch from ACFAOM clinical conference abstract session could changehe way insurance companies reimburse podiatrists for orthotics

Kathleen Satterfield, DPM, FACFAOMPresident-Elect ACFAOM

The Abstract Session at the 2010 ACFAOM Annual Clinical Con-erence, held on August 29th, in Orlando, Florida, featured a wideange of participants – from long-time practitioners to full-timeesearchers, from podiatric students to multi-disciplinary teams.fter all presenters’ abstracts were heard by the largest audienceet, the decision of the abstract committee’s previously conductedlinded evaluation was announced and engraved medals were pre-ented to the top three award winners.

The contribution of the first place award winning abstract’s prin-ipal author, in particular, was noted to be of great importance. Anudience member and conference keynote speaker, Dr. Lawrencearkless, commented to first-place award winner Jamie Hender-

on, that her abstract held special significance. “I don’t think youealize how important this study is,” he said to the second-yeartudent from the Arizona Podiatric Medicine program at Midwest-rn University’s Glendale campus. “This information could changehe way that insurance programs look at paying podiatrists forrthotics. This is huge.”

irst Place

ow-dye taping as a predictor of orthotic effectiveness

amie Henderson (MS), John Tassone (DPM, FACFAOM)

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess whether low-ye taping is an effective predictor for prescription orthotic success.

Methods: Nineteen subjects demonstrating asymptomatic over-ronation were selected to participate. Rearfoot angle data wereollected for three experimental conditions, control, customrthotic, and low-dye taping. Reflective markers placed on theower leg and heel were used to determine static relaxed calcanealtance position (RCSP) and dynamic maximal rearfoot eversion.oints were digitized using the Peak Motus Motion Measurementystem (Englewood, CO), after which average values were calcu-

ated; and two one-way repeated measures ANOVAs were used toetermine differences in the three experimental conditions.

Results: The results showed a statistically significant decrease inCSP for both the orthotic (p < 0.05) and low-dye taping (p < 0.05) asompared to the control. The difference in RCSP for low-dye taping

958-2592/$ – see front matteroi:10.1016/j.foot.2011.01.003

and orthotics was not statistically significant (p = 0.1). A statisticallysignificant decrease in dynamic maximal rearfoot eversion wasfound for the orthotic (p < 0.05) but not low-dye taping (p = 0.13)when compared to the control. The difference in dynamic max-imal rearfoot eversion for low-dye taping and orthotics was notstatistically significant (p = 0.342).

Conclusions: Taping is commonly used by podiatrists to deter-mine whether an orthotic will be an effective intervention. Theseresults indicate that low-dye taping is a good predictor of orthoticeffectiveness for static, but not dynamic, conditions.

doi:10.1016/j.foot.2011.01.004

Second Place

Assessment of neuropathic pain: Severity, symptoms and treat-ments

Alexander Estrada (DPM), Dean Gianarhis (PharmD)

Goal/purpose: The primary objective was to determine theprevalence of pain, including pain with a neuropathic component,and assess the effectiveness of treatment. The secondary objectivewas to determine the impact of pain on quality of life (QOL).

Methods: Eligible patients with diabetes who presented to thepodiatrist from February 2009 to July 2009 were asked to com-plete a survey. Pain was assessed using a numeric pain scale andquestions incorporated to identify neuropathic pain symptoms. Thesurvey also included questions about the impact of pain on QOL andmedication use.

Results: There were 40 patients included in the analysis. Themean age was 65.7 years. Overall, 65% (26/40) indicated theyhad pain and 83% of these were likely to have neuropathic pain.Nearly all (96%) were taking pain medication but most (68%) weretaking only one agent. The mean pain scores before and aftertreatment were 8.2 ± 2.1 (2–10) and 5.3 ± 2.3 (0–9), respectively(p < 0.001). The cumulative proportion of patients who achieveda > 30% and >50% reduction in pain was 54% and 27%, respec-tively. All medication treatment groups were associated with a

statistically significant reduction in pain scores. Patients withsevere pain were more likely to have neuropathic pain, experi-ence difficulty performing tasks, and take medications for nervepain.