Dr Atanelov representing Steady Strides had been working closely with the National Council of Fall Risk Awareness and Prevention. We had just published a high profile article on Lower-Limb Factors Associated with Balance and Falls in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Clinical Synthesis in Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association. Article link is available at https://japmaonline.org/doi/abs/10.7547/19-143.
In this article we summarized available evidence on foot and footware related factors and risk of falls. Person related, intrinsic factors: foot and ankle deformity, pain, range of motion limitation and weakness; as well as extrinsic factors: orthosis and footware use were directly linked with risk of falls. Current study found plantar skin/soft-tissue and sensory (feeling in feet) deficits, connected via intermediate factors to risk of falls.
Practically, if you suffer from limited foot and ankle range of motion, pain, foot deformities (e.g. bunion), weakness, or have foot numbness you may be at risk of falls. Proper shoe and bracing selection can affect your risk of falls.
We are currently working on providing guidelines for other physicians to educate them how to assess and manage foot and ankle related factors associated with falls.