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Less load measured through foot when subjects wore walking cast frame
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LIVERPOOL, United Kingdom — A walking cast frame used for lower limb immobilization helped substantially reduce transmission of force through the foot during weight-bearing compared to a Sarmiento cast above the knee and a standard below the knee cast, based on study results presented here.
“We think this will probably reduce the incidence of morbidity and hopefully improve what it is like for the patients to wear their casts,” compared to the current gold standard of patella tendon-bearing or Sarmiento cast, James T. Berwin, MBBS, said at the British Orthopaedic Association Annual Meeting.
The load on the foot from casts has not previously been evaluated, Berwin said.
He and his colleagues devised a measurement system that used force sensors applied to the first and fifth metatarsal head and the plantar surface of the calcaneus to obtain baseline force readings. They used the system in seven men and seven women healthy volunteers.
Each volunteer was then fitted with each style of cast and walked a distance wearing type of cast to obtain the in-use readings. The types of casts studied were a Sarmiento cast, a below knee cast and a Böhler Walker cast frame (Beagle Orthopaedic Ltd.).
“Compared to the standard below knee cast, the Böhler Walker reduced the mean peak force through the first metatarsal head by 58.9%,” Berwin said.
Mean forces were higher across the calcaneal tuberosity with the Sarmiento cast, he noted.
According to the abstract, the implications of these findings may mean walking is safer and tolerated better by patients who are casted due to various foot and ankle conditions. – by Susan M. Rapp
Reference:
Berwin JT, et al. Paper #24. Presented at: British Orthopaedic Association Annual Congress; Sept. 15-18, 2015; Liverpool, United Kingdom.
Disclosure: Berwin reports no relevant financial disclosures.