ORTHOPÄDIE SCHUH TECHNIK-Conference: Impulses for the future
With its two main topics and 27 seminars, the conference at the 7th ORTHOPÄDIE SCHUH TECHNIK once again offered the opportunity to update your knowledge and gain inspiration for the further development of your own business. The conference focus „Analyzing, understanding, caring“ offered in-depth insights into human movement with numerous lectures and seminars and also conveyed concepts for therapy and the provision of assistive devices.
As part of a panel discussion, speakers from various congress areas reported on the most important findings from their sessions and discussed how orthopaedic footwear technology can position itself for the future. According to Wolfgang Best from organizer C. Maurer Fachmedien, the program was also developed against the backdrop of digital competitors trying to gain a foothold in the industry. Instead of engaging in simplified digital care, which would probably not stand a chance against large competitors, pedorthics should focus on its expertise in working with patients, i.e. on those activities that are not possible without personal contact with the patient. Prof. Bernhard Greitemann explained why this is so important in the session „Digital or analog: How do we know what the patient needs?“ Despite the advances in digital technology, it is still necessary for the specialist to individually record, adjust and check the foot orthotic on the patient. This is the only way to really identify the functional disorder, which is ultimately the aim of the correction with the assistive device. Dr. Stephan Biesenbach and Dr. Michael Gabel laid the foundations for the implementation in practice, introducing the functional anatomy of the foot and the practical foot examination.
Movement is the foundation of health
Why it is so important for pedorthics to keep people on the move or restore their mobility was clearly demonstrated in the presentations by Dr. Wolfgang Laube and Prof. Jan Wilke. Movement protects the body from chronic degenerative diseases, Dr. Laube emphasized. Muscle activity is responsible for the health of all fasciae, tendons, respiration, the heart, circulation, metabolism and the immune system. To this end, they produce signaling substances to drive the body‘s „structural systems“. The musculature is the „center“ of a good or negative state of health of the body. This is why exercise is „the most important medicine“ for health and freedom from pain throughout life.
When Jan Wilke began his research into fasciae, these connective tissue structures were still the Cinderella of sports medicine. What he actually wanted to study in the anatomy course had already been neatly removed and was in the dustbin. In his lecture, Wilke explained very clearly how much the tide has turned today. We no longer just look at skeletal muscles, tendons or bony structures when it comes to controlling movement or power transmission. The fascia that surrounds the muscle has both mechanical and sensory functions and is also relevant for orthopaedic pain symptoms. Therefore, the same applies here: Movement maintains mobility and protects against pain.
Under the title „Understanding complaints and providing targeted care“, Prof. Gert-Peter Brüggemann first explained how outsole technologies in running shoes can influence the frequency of injuries, before Dr. Oliver Ludwig and Stephan Woltring used several case studies to introduce the interdisciplinary care of top athletes.
Implementing standards of care
Last year, Dr. Hartmut Stinus and Michael Möller published the compendium „Foot and Shoe Quality Standard“. Together with Dr. Melanie Horter and Michael Volkery, they presented individual areas of care from the compendium at the congress and explained how paralysis of the foot and leg, fallen arches or knee and lower leg problems can be treated using the treatment pathways and care matrix from the compendium.
Panel discussion: Ways into the future
Standards of care were also an important topic of the panel discussion on Saturday. On the topic of „Ways into the future - perspectives for pedorthics“, speakers from various congress sections reported on the most important findings from their sessions and discussed how pedorthics can position itself for the future. According to the participants, this also includes standards of care. As Dr. Hartmut Stinus emphasized, these are not only important in terms of improving care, but also have a political dimension. Only through recognized and evidence-based standards will it be possible to secure and improve the standard of care vis-à-vis funding bodies.
According to Dr. Annette Kerkhoff, project manager of KomZet Orthopädieschuhtechnik, standards are also important in order to gain knowledge about the best care for certain indications. Standardized care data, from the medical history to the review of care, can also be used to create studies that examine the effect of the provision of assistive devices.
OSM Ruth Häbry reported on how difficult it still is today to combine work, family and career in the Women and Careers seminar, in which four successful female pedorthists reported on their career paths. Role models are still very traditional. As a rule, a woman with a child can only become self-employed with a very strong family environment, such as parents, parents-in-law or partners.
A picture gallery of the conference can be found on the website of the journal Orthopädieschuhtechnik.
