- Ultrasound Evaluation of the Abductor Hallucis Muscle in Youth: A Reliability Study. [Journal Article]J Foot Ankle Res. 2026 Dec; 19(4).JF
- CONCLUSIONS: A portable US device demonstrated excellent inter-rater and inter-session reliability for measuring AbdH CSA in youth and was strongly associated with cart-based US measurements.
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- Foot Biomechanics, Body Composition, and Sex-Related Factors Associated With Work-Related Musculoskeletal Discomfort in Standing Assembly-Line Workers: A Cross-Sectional Study. [Journal Article]J Foot Ankle Res. 2026 Dec; 19(4).JF
- CONCLUSIONS: Among women, pronated foot posture was associated with greater overall work-related musculoskeletal discomfort during prolonged standing and with greater odds of lumbar discomfort, whereas overweight/obesity status was associated with greater odds of foot and hip/gluteal discomfort. The pronation-discomfort association was attenuated in men. From an occupational-health perspective, incorporating foot-posture and BMI assessment into ergonomic evaluations may help identify workers who could benefit from more individualized preventive strategies, particularly women with pronated feet.
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- Squamous Cell Carcinoma in the Diabetic Foot: A Review of Published Case Reports. [Review]J Foot Ankle Res. 2026 Dec; 19(4).JF
- CONCLUSIONS: Squamous cell carcinoma in people with diabetes-related foot disease is rare but frequently misdiagnosed, resulting in prolonged lesion duration prior to diagnosis. Clinicians should maintain a high index of suspicion for malignancy in atypical or non-healing foot lesions, particularly those with unusual features or persistence despite treatment. Early biopsy is essential for timely diagnosis and optimising outcomes.
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- Foot Shape in Women With and Without Hallux Valgus Determined Using 3-Dimensional Foot Scanning. [Journal Article]
- CONCLUSIONS: Women with HV exhibited a broader forefoot and heel compared with those without the deformity. Moreover, women with HV displayed a larger ball girth circumference and height of the top of the ball girth, suggesting that vertical dimensional changes occur in this condition. These findings suggest that individuals with HV may benefit from adequate footwear fitting and new lacing techniques and inform the development of targeted footwear modifications or HV-specific footwear manufacturing guidelines.
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- Intention-to-Leave Among New Zealand Podiatrists: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Frequency and Associated Factors. [Journal Article]
- CONCLUSIONS: ITL among NZ podiatrists is prevalent, with over half of this sample reporting some ITL and almost one quarter considering a near-term exit. Given the relatively small NZ podiatry workforce, these findings raise important concerns regarding future workforce sustainability and service-provision capacity. Addressing modifiable factors such as role satisfaction, organisational support, professional value and workplace stress may represent important targets for retention initiatives.
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- Predictive Contribution of Clinical Measures of Ankle Neuromuscular Impairments to Ankle Kinematic Deviations During Gait in Children With Cerebral Palsy. [Journal Article]
- CONCLUSIONS: Soleus length, plantarflexor hypertonia, and selective motor control impairments partially explain swing-phase ankle motion but not stance-phase kinematics. These findings suggest that standard clinical assessments have limited value in predicting weight-bearing gait function. Comprehensive evaluations incorporating objective biomechanical measures are needed to guide individualized treatment planning in children with CP.
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- Working Right Ways: Investigating Health Practitioners' Perspectives of Foot Health and Needs for Providing Good Foot Care With and for First Nations Peoples. [Journal Article]
- CONCLUSIONS: Participants described a meaning of foot health that is relational to physical and spiritual constructs, and central to reclamation of, and continuation of, First Nations cultures; amidst a project of ongoing colonisation. Needs for good foot care provision with and for First Nations Peoples included a workforce continually learning and unlearning to develop cultural capabilities to work with and for, and support, First Nations foot health. This study provides distinct and real first-hand accounts from health practitioners working in the space which the podiatry profession must listen to and receive direction and learning from.
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- A Systematic Review of Complications Following Elective Foot and Ankle Surgery. [Systematic Review]
- CONCLUSIONS: Complications after elective foot and ankle surgery are common and multifactorial, with consistent risk patterns across procedures. These findings support improved risk stratification, targeted preoperative optimization, and structured postoperative care.
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- Loop Taping for Heel Fat Pad Syndrome: A Crossover Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial. [Randomized Controlled Trial]
- CONCLUSIONS: Loop taping showed favorable trends for reducing pain and improving function and significantly increased heel fat pad thickness. Although underpowered for definitive conclusions, several outcomes exceeded MCIDs. Findings support the potential of loop taping and inform primary outcome selection and design considerations for future, larger trials of this low-cost, pathomechanics-based intervention.
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- Diabetes-Related Foot Disease as the Principal Reason for Hospital Admission: 5 Years of Data From a Major Tertiary Hospital in Aotearoa New Zealand. [Journal Article]
- CONCLUSIONS: DFD-caused hospitalisations and amputations made up nearly a quarter of all hospital bed days used by people with diabetes and nearly doubled over 5 years. The highest rates were found in adults of Māori and Pacific ethnicity. Most DFD-caused hospitalisations did not involve amputations (78%). The high and increasing burden of DFD-caused hospitalisations suggest surveillance could monitor necessary changes to preventative foot care services.
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- A Multi-Axis Plantar Load Measurement Platform for the Assessment of Foot Disorders: Comparison of Patients With Psoriatic Arthritis to a Healthy Control Cohort. [Journal Article]
- CONCLUSIONS: The new platform demonstrates potential clinical utility in capturing comprehensive foot-loading profiles, including critical shear stresses previously under-assessed. Although the current pilot study was limited in number, the results support the theory that local mechanical stresses may contribute to PsA-related dactylitis. Future larger-scale studies are needed to clarify these findings and overcome limitations related to altered gait patterns due to foot pain.
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- Research Capacity and Culture of Podiatrists in Canada (Quebec) and France: A Parallel Cross-Sectional Study. [Journal Article]
- CONCLUSIONS: This is the first analysis of RCC among French-speaking podiatrists, and overall RCC levels were low. Higher RCC scores were associated with active research involvement, dedicated research time, research training, and, among Quebec podiatrists, practice outside private practice. These findings highlight potential targets for capacity-building initiatives to strengthen evidence-based podiatry in French-speaking contexts.
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- Conservative Outcomes of Subtalar Dislocation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Current Literature. [Systematic Review]
- CONCLUSIONS: Radiographic post-traumatic arthritis is common following conservative management of subtalar dislocations (36%) but was frequently not associated with functional impairment; favourable functional outcomes were achieved for closed medial injuries, although symptom severity was inconsistently reported across studies. Avascular necrosis is rare. Lateral dislocations consistently have poorer prognoses.
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- Side-Step Cutting Foot Biomechanics and Intrinsic Foot Muscle Sizes in People With Chronic Ankle Instability. [Journal Article]
- CONCLUSIONS: Despite pronounced sensory-perceptual impairments, individuals with CAI demonstrated few differences in foot joint biomechanics compared with copers and controls during a moderate-speed anticipated cutting task. Reduced braking forces may reflect altered deceleration strategies. These findings suggest the importance of assessing deceleration abilities in people with CAI and indicate a potential role of foot muscles in CAI-related functional outcomes.
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- Gait and Plantar Pressure Analysis in Charcot Neuroarthropathy: A Clinic-Based Biomechanical Study. [Journal Article]
- CONCLUSIONS: CN participants exhibited reduced knee ROM and altered regional plantar pressures consistent with midfoot collapse, with reduced knee ROM also evident in the contralateral limb, supporting bilateral involvement in CN. These findings support the utility of clinic-based integrated gait analysis as an adjunctive tool for characterizing CN and informing clinical management.
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