Background: The aim of this study was to determine whether tightness of the posterior muscles of the lower extremity was associated with plantar fasciitis. Methods: A total of 100 lower limbs of 100 subjects, 50 with plantar fasciitis and 50 matching controls were recruited. Hamstring and calf muscles were evaluated through the straight leg elevation test, popliteal angle test, and ankle dorsiflexion (knee extended and with the knee flexed). All variables were compared between the 2 groups. In addition, ROC curves, sensitivity, and specificity of the muscle contraction tests were also calculated to determine their potential predictive powers. Results: Differences between the 2 groups for the tests used to assess muscular shortening were significant ( P < .001) in all cases. The straight leg elevation test and ankle dorsiflexion with the knee extended presented respective sensitivities of 94% and 100% and specificities of 82% and 96% as diagnostic tests for the participants in this study. Conclusion: Tightness of the posterior muscles of the lower limb was present in the plantar fasciitis patients, but not in the unaffected participants. Clinical Relevance: The results of this study suggest that therapists who are going to employ a stretching protocol for treatment of plantar fasciitis should look for both hamstring as well as triceps surae tightness. Stretching exercise programs could be recommended for treatment of plantar fasciitis, focusing on stretching the triceps surae and hamstrings, apart from an adequate tissue-specific plantar fascia-stretching protocol. Level of Evidence: Level III, case control study.

Randomized, double-blinded, clinical trial. Low back pain is one of the commonest disorders affecting the back. The literature reflects how over time excessive pronation of the foot has become to be recognized as linked to chronic low back pain, and how the problem can evolve for the better with the use of compensating foot orthoses. The main objective of this study is to answer the question of whether the use of a certain type of custom-made foot orthosis alleviates low back pain. In a sample of 51 participants with excessive subtalar pronation and chronic low back pain (43 women and 8 men), the effect of custom-made foot orthoses in low back pain was studied. The study design was a randomized, double-blinded, clinical trial with two groups: experimental, treated with the custom-made foot orthoses, and control, treated with a placebo. Low back pain was evaluated by a visual analog scale for pain and Oswestry’s Disability Index Questionnaire for lower back pain at two moments—on the day of inclusion in the study and after 4 weeks of treatment. The evolution of the low back pain showed significant differences in the experimental group, showing a significant reduction of pain and disability (p < 0.001, visual analog scale; p < 0.001, Oswestry’s Index). In the sample studied, the use of custom-made foot orthoses to control foot pronation had a short-term effect in reduction of perceived low back pain. If subtalar joint hyperpronation plays a fundamental role in the pathomechanics of lower limb, and this can facilitate the development of low back pain, then controlling the abnormal mobility of subtalar joint by means of foot orthoses should improve this symptom. This article could help solve this controversy.

Preoperative anxiety has been studied in different medical disciplines, but it is unknown in minor surgical procedures such as foot nail surgery. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of preoperative anxiety and postoperative pain in foot nail surgery. The validated Amsterdam preoperative anxiety and information scale (APAIS) was used to evaluate preoperative anxiety and the need for information in 155 patients undergoing foot nail surgery. In addition, a questionnaire was used to collect other variables such as age, sex and educational level. The verbal numeric scale was employed to value the postoperative pain after 24 h. Age and sex influenced (p < 0.05) preoperative anxiety, which had a prevalence of 22.6%. More than 43% of patients needed more information and this was correlated with anxiety (r = 0.629; p < 0.001). There was a significant difference when comparing the total anxiety between the group of participants who had more pain and that who had less pain (p < 0.001). The prevalence of anxiety was high in the participants of this study, being greater in young patients and in women. There was a deficit of information, increasing the level of preoperative anxiety, which in turn was related with greater postoperative pain.

The objective was to relate the incidence of the partition of the hallucal sesamoid bones to the size of the first metatarsal and the hallux valgus deformity. In a sample of 474 radiographs, the frequency of appearance of bipartite sesamoids was studied. The length and relative protrusion of the first metatarsal, and the hallux abductus angle, were measured and compared between the feet with and without sesamoid partition. The results showed that 14.6% of the feet studied had at least one partite sesamoid, that the sesamoid most frequently divided was the medial, and that unilateral partition was the most common. No difference was found in the incidence of partite sesamoids between men and women, or between left and right feet. Protrusion and length of the first metatarsal are greater in feet with partite sesamoids than in feet without this condition. A significantly higher incidence of bipartite medial sesamoid was obtained in feet with hallux valgus compared with normal feet.