The Italian version of the FFI showed satisfactory psychometric properties in Italian patients with foot and ankle diseases. Further testing in different and larger samples is required in order to ensure the validity and reliability of this score.

The aim of this study was to establish whether children treated with subtalar arthroereisis for flexible flatfoot were able to return to sport activities. We reviewed 49 patients with a mean age at the time of surgery of 10.7 years. The type of sport activities, the number of sessions per week, the time dedicated to each session, and the level achieved were assessed preoperatively and at the last follow-up. Overall, 45 patients returned to sports after surgery. Surgery did not alter the duration, frequency, and type of sporting activities, but the participation in physical activities as well as the emotional status and footwear issues improved.

Almost 1 million Americans are affected by plantar fasciitis (PF), which is the commonest cause of chronic heel pain. This condition is often managed conservatively, and many rehabilitation protocols, some with the aid of orthoses, have been adopted, with goodto-excellent clinical results. Although most cases of chronic PF can be successfully managed with a conservative approach, alternative treatments, including high-energy shock wave therapy and corticosteroid injections, are commonly accepted as second-line treatment when traditional conservative therapy fails. However, surgery is still an important mode of treatment. Recently, new minimally invasive surgical techniques that offer numerous advantages (faster recovery time, early weight-bearing, lower postoperative pain) over standard surgical approaches have been proposed, with good results and low complication rates. The purpose of this review is to report new conservative and surgical techniques for the treatment of PF. A literature search for articles about plantar fasciitis was conducted on the PubMed database in order to identify publications addressing the treatments of PF. The literature suggests that, initially, traditional conservative treatments consisting of rest, oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, foot orthotics, and stretching exercises can be tried for several weeks. In patients with chronic recalcitrant PF, extracorporeal shock wave therapy or corticosteroid injection can be considered. Surgery (minimally invasive techniques) should be considered only after failure of the conservative treatments.

The Italian version of the OAFQ might be a reliable and valid instrument in order to evaluate interventions used to treat children's foot or ankle problem, but needs further study on different clinical settings.

The acute rupture of the tibialis posterior (TP) tendon, compared to an acute rupture of the Achilles tendon, is a quite uncommon disease to be diagnosed in the emergency department setting. In most cases symptoms related to a TP dysfunction, like weakness, pain along the course of the tendon, swelling in the region of the medial malleolus, and the partial or complete loss of the medial arch with a flatfoot deformity precede the complete rupture of the tendon. In this case report, we describe an acute rupture of the TP tendon following a pronation-external rotation injury of the ankle with no association of a medial malleolus fracture and with no history of a prior flatfoot deformity or symptoms.

Due to the nature of articular cartilage of being poorly vascularized the capabilities of self repair are limited. Mesenchymal stem cells transplantation is a modern technique which has been developed after the high success rates obtained by microfracturing and drilling techniques which promote the release of growth factors and the infiltration of bone marrow derived cells in the lesion. In order to increase the concentration of bone marrow derived cells appropriate devices, the scaffolds, are necessary. These three dimensional constructs mimic the physiological ambient of chondrogenesis.The race for new scaffold materials, which will show high biocompatibility to prevent inflammatory response, high cellular adhesion properties with three dimensional architecture, high bioactivity to deliver growth factor appropriately and possibly high biodegrability has just begun. New studies will concentrate on the role, on the interaction and on the temporal sequence of growth factors to improve ostheocondral differentiation, but the necessity to increase the number of clinical studies with more patients and longer follow ups seems mandatory. The aim of this review is to update and summarise the evidence-based knowledge of treatment of talus chondral defect with new tissue engineering techniques.

A significant reduction in BME area was associated with a significant decrease in pain within 3 months of beginning treatment.

No abstract