Footnotes Summer 2024 - 19

The American College of Foot and Ankle Pediatrics (ACFAP) Roundtable.
better support students and residents. This year's annual
conference will be held from September 26 to 28, 2024,
in Palm Springs, California, near Joshua Tree National
Park. We're in the midst of revamping our website. We
encourage participation from students and professionals
to foster learning and collaboration. Therefore, we
encourage students and professionals to send in proposals
on ideas for how they believe ACFAP can better educate
them and provide opportunities, especially since our key
programs and initiatives really have to center around
the youth of our field. Send me an email, come to our
meetings, participate, and tell me how we can do better.
What inspired you to create the Adult and Pediatric
Biomechanics Lab, and what were your main goals?
My multidisciplinary approach to patient care,
especially for children, inspired the creation of the lab.
Although everything starts at the foot, there are a lot
of influencing factors that go into deciding whether
an orthotic is going to work well or if surgery is going
to work well, especially in complex cases. The goal is
to address complex cases comprehensively to optimize
treatment outcomes. For example, in neuromuscular
cases, you're looking at bracing and evaluating the spine.
In other cases you could be looking at autism spectrum
SUMMER 2024
sensory profile, and other associated comorbidities like
connective tissue disorder where you need to get a lot
of other specialists in. We bring together specialists to
study gait and create the best orthotics. My business
partner, Roberta Knowles, PT, and I developed Little
Steps Orthotics for children and Quadriceps Orthotics
for adults, and have a patent on the 24 congenital foot
types in adults. Additionally, Roberta inspired the idea
of bringing the presence of the actual orthotics lab in
the office to see the patient to help us provide the best
possible care instead of just sending out the orthotic
with a cast or a scan.
How do you envision your current research
impacting clinical practices and treatment
guidelines in pediatric podiatry?
My research focuses on connective tissue disorders
and foot type, redefining conditions and treatments of
Sever's disease, and dispelling myths about growing
pains through retrospective studies. We are also
dispelling the myth that children with Down Syndrome
have a normal average age to start walking at 2 years
old. We aim to bring that number down by showing
that orthotic treatment and physical therapy at an early
age can significantly improve outcomes for children
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Footnotes Summer 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Footnotes Summer 2024
