Children Flat Foot and Lower Limb Rotational Profile: A Cross-Sectional Descriptive Study

Flat foot in children is a common deformation, which appears during the first years of life. It requires a rigorous evaluation to rule out congenital or neurological abnormality. It is characterized by a decrease of the plantar concavity indeed collapse of the foot, often associated with other morphostatic deformations. The aim of this study is to find a correlation between the essential flat foot in children and lower limb disorders torsional. It is a cross-sectional descriptive study, recruiting 110 children (220 feet) aged between 3 and 6 years old. Each child was given an assessment of the morphology of the foot (Contact Index II…) and lower limb rotational profile (intoeing and femoral antétorsion and tibal torsion). Among 110 children, 21 (19.1%) have bilateral flat feet and 7 (6.4%) have unilateral flat feet, associated with an average value of Contact Index II equal to 0.921;the minimum value is 0.880 and the maximum value is 1.17. All children with flat feet have excessive femoral antétorsion;45 (92%) are associated with a hip intoeing and 38 (80%) present an insufficient external tibial torsion. The analysis of multiple regression shows a significantly elevated correlation among the flat foot and excessive internal rotation of the hip (F = 70.36, r = 0.77, P < 0.001), excessive femoral antetorsion (F = 54.78, r = 0.73, P < 0.001) and insufficient external tibial torsion (F = 7.79, r = 0.37, P < 0.001).

Effects of wet-cupping on blood pressure in hypertensive patients:a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND： Although cupping remains a popular treatment modality worldwide, its efficacy for most diseases, including hypertension, has not been scientifically evaluated. OBJECTIVE： We aimed to determine the efficacy of wet-cupping for high blood pressure, and the incidence of the procedure＇s side effects in the intervention group. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS AND INTERVENTIONS： This is a randomized controlled trial conducted in the General Practice Department at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, between May 2013 and February 2014. There were two groups （40 participants each）： intervention group undergoing wet-cupping （hijama） in addition to conventional hypertension treatment, and a control group undergoing only conventional hypertension treatment. Three wet-cupping sessions were performed every other day. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE： The mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures were measured using a validated automatic sphygmomanometer. The follow-up period was 8 weeks. RESULTS： Wet-cupping provided an immediate reduction of systolic blood pressure. After 4 weeks of follow-up, the mean systolic blood pressure in the intervention group was 8.4 mmHg less than in the control group （P = 0.046）. After 8 weeks, there were no significant differences in blood pressures between the intervention and control groups. In this study, wet-cupping did not result in any serious side effects. CONCLUSION： Wet-cupping therapy is effective for reducing systolic blood pressure in hypertensive patients for up to 4 weeks, without serious side effects. Wet-cupping should be considered as a complementary hypertension treatment, and further studies are needed.