Childhood obesity exerts abnormally high stresses on developing foot structures which can lead to structural deformity of the foot. Screening for foot problems in children with overweight helps detect interior risks restricting normal lifestyle in these individuals. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of excess weight on the structure and function of the developing foot in students aged 7-14 years. A total of 667 participants were recruited for this cross-sectional study via a multi-level cluster sampling method (randomization was used within each cluster). All subjects (340 boys and 327 girls) attended primary and secondary schools in Isfahan City, Iran. The children's feet were evaluated using clinical assessments and footprint-based measures whilst fully weight bearing. Significant differences were observed in the frequency of flatfoot between normal weight, overweight and obese groups (P < 0.001); participants who were more overweight had flatter feet. Children with higher weight also had a more pronated heel, less dorsiflexion range and higher reported pain within physical activity. This study indicated that childhood obesity is associated with structural foot and ankle deformities and activity-related foot pain.

Objective. Tennis elbow is a common cause of upper limb dysfunction and a primary reason for pain at the lateral aspect of the elbow. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of three commonly used orthoses on pain severity. An elbow band, an elbow sleeve, and a wrist splint were assessed for their ability to reduce the level of reported pain. Method. A crossover randomized controlled trial was used. The orthoses were worn in a randomized order, and all participants were required to complete a control trial for which they wore a placebo orthosis. 52 participants with lateral epicondylalgia were recruited, and the level of pain at their elbow was recorded using the visual analogue scale (VAS). Results. The reported pain for all orthoses was lower than that of the placebo (P < 0.05). Pain reduction was significantly greater with a counterforce elbow band or a counterforce elbow sleeve compared to a wrist splint (P < 0.01). There was no significant difference between a counterforce elbow band and a counterforce elbow sleeve (P = 0.23). Conclusion. All the types of orthoses studied showed an immediate improvement on pain severity in people with lateral epicondylalgia. The counterforce elbow orthoses (elbow band and elbow sleeve) presented the greatest improvement, suggesting that either of them can be used as a first treatment choice to alleviate the pain in people with tennis elbow.

Prognostic, Level IV: Case series.

Background: The assessment of the emotional consequences of having a spinal deformity and orthotic management in people with idiopathic scoliosis is essential. This study was aimed to translate and culturally adapt the Bad Sobernheim Stress questionnaire (BSSQ-Brace) for Iranian adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis using thoracolumbar orthoses. Materials and Methods: The BSSQ was translated into Persian according to a standard guideline. The Persian BSSQ-Brace was completed by 55 Iranian subjects with spinal deformities who agreed to participate in this research. The validity was determined by correlating the Persian BSSQ-Brace questionnaire (BrQ) and the revised Scoliosis Research Society-22 patient questionnaire (SRS-22r). To assess test-retest reliability, all participants completed the BSSQ-Brace twice, with a gap of 1-week. Intraclass Correlation Coefficient and Cronbach's alpha were measured to report reliability. Results: All population revealed items in the Persian BSSQ-Brace were easily understood, and there was no difficulty completing them. The psychometric properties of the Persian version of BSSQ-Brace demonstrated excellent test-retest reliability (interclass correlation coefficient = 0.94), excellent internal consistency (Chronbach's alpha = 0.94), and high construct validity with SRS-22r ( r = 0.74). Conclusions: The Persian BSSQ-Brace is a reliable and valid instrument to assess the emotional domains in subjects wearing a spinal orthosis.