ISPO World Congress in Glasgow, Scotland

Every three years, ISPO hosts a major scientific meeting in a different country of the world. Because ISPO is the only international, multi-disciplinary society devoted to prosthetic and orthotic rehabilitation, this is often the single best opportunity of the triennium to learn about the evolution of rehab practices and thinking among our physician, surgeon, engineering, and therapist colleagues. ISPO meetings also offer an excellent chance to learn about practice variations in other countries and cultures. This often provides insights into how one's home country practice may evolve in the future.

Because of the multinational and interdisciplinary emphasis, there is much less of the crass commercialism that sometimes creeps into domestic meetings. In general, the scientific content of the talks is quite good, and this Congress was no exception. One of my favorite ISPO traditions is the Instructional Course, where a recognized authority reviews generally accepted principles and practices in one aspect of P&O. ICs help verify that your basic thinking is up to date and offer a chance to have a private, in-depth discussion after the Course with an international expert in an area of special interest.

Instructional Courses

Wieland Kaphingst, CP and I presented an IC on prosthetic knee mechanisms that was well received and generated a great deal of informal discussion after the sessions. I was interested to learn that the German government is about to adopt Functional Levels patterned closely after the Medicare K-levels introduced a few years ago in the USA. In addition, they are reportedly planning to begin independently testing manufacturer's components to verify that the functional performance claimed is accurate. As the globe shrinks due to modern communication capabilities, changes in one country or market increasingly influence the situation in other places: yet another reason we need to keep abreast of international practices.

Don Shurr, PT, CPO organized a nice IC on prosthetic feet that reviewed the key scientific studies currently available. It will be increasingly important to base our clinical recommendations on validated data, and this IC provided a good foundation for this task.

Don Weber CO[c] and Gordon Ruder CP[c] from Canada contributed to a two-day IC on the Biomechanics of AFOs and KAFOs. This was one of the most in-depth treatments of this crucial aspect of orthotic practice I have ever seen, and the case illustrations were superb. Don's portion, in particular, seamlessly integrated video clips with digital stills, and even line drawings morphed from specific video frames! It is always a joy to hear an experienced orthotist share his or her insights, and no one has more passion for the field than these two!

Finally, I attended an IC organized by Bill Contayannis of Australia that reviewed and clarified the engineering principles of composite fiber-reinforces structures. Bill and his colleagues are in a unique position to offer practical advice on how to strengthen and toughen our designs because their center reviews structural failures of P&O devices that occur in their part of the world. They have conducted a week-long seminar for Australian practitioners that covers this topic in much more depth. If the one and one half hour content of this IC is any indication, that must be an outstanding practical course for clinicians who do not have an engineering background.

Reader Comments: Read all user comments S.W.A.S.H. Orthosis I need additional input from you reguarding this thing. ( or suggest someone) According to the supplier all kinds of studies are ongoing by major players in the o and p community T cant find anybody I talked to Charlie Johnson MD from Scott... read more - John Link BOC RTO   9/4/2001 Re: S.W.A.S.H. Orthosis I am finishing my Thesis for my Advanced Masters in Pediatric and Geriatric Neurological Disorders at UT Memphis. My topic is "The Effects of the Standing, Walking and Sitting Hip Orthosis on Spastic Diplegia Gait". I am preparing my defen... read more - Debbie W. Jelks,PT   11/19/2001 Re: Re: S.W.A.S.H. Orthosis Please send any information on your experiences using the SWASH orthosis on children with CP. Thanks, Robin. - Robin Pasterski, PT   3/30/2006 Re: Re: S.W.A.S.H. Orthosis I am a third year student in NJ who is looking for studies on the SWASH. I would like to do an inservice on this topic as quite a few of the children are now coming in with this orthotic. I would greatly appreciate it if you would share y... read more - jamie impreveduto   1/11/2006 Re: Re: S.W.A.S.H. Orthosis I, too, would appreciate reading your results on this, since a new 14 year old patient has one and DOESN"T like it or use it. - Maureen   8/29/2003 Re: Re: S.W.A.S.H. Orthosis Hello. I am responsible for business development assistant in Thailand and I'm searching and studying about the S.W.A.S.H. for CP children. But in Thailand, there is a little data about it and it isn't enough. I would be grateful if you c... read more - Kannika Numuang   8/1/2003 Re: Re: S.W.A.S.H. Orthosis Hi, I would love to see your results of your study on the swash brace. - Debbie Strobach, MA, PT   7/15/2003 Re: Re: S.W.A.S.H. Orthosis Hi, I would love to see your results of your study on the swash brace. - Debbie Strobach, MA, PT   7/15/2003 Re: Re: S.W.A.S.H. Orthosis hello i am a final year PT student in NZ, and i have been treating a 3 year old child with athetoid CP. We trialed a SWASH brace with him, and saw quite marked improvements in both sitting and walking. I am currently looking for some clin... read more - Teresa Clark   7/25/2002 Re: Re: Re: S.W.A.S.H. Orthosis I would love to read of your results, can you share them? - Maureen   8/29/2003 Heated shoes The link to the factory that makes microprocessor-controlled, heated shoes was spelled wrongly. It should be www.klaveness.no - Steve Collier   8/30/2001 Composite fiber-reinforced structures/ Principles and failures Thanks for the kind words John, BUT the credit must go to Ross Stewart (rehab eng, @ REHAB Tech) and Andreas Wurshing (Otto Bock) for really "making" the IC a success..I was only a bit player. Well done guys!. Bill - Bill Contoyannis   8/8/2001 Anuncio del Curso sobre Interfases de Silicón,para Amputaciones Transfemora Estimado Sr. John Michael C.P.O. le enviamos este correo desde la Ciudad de Mexico, para informarle del Curso sobre Interfases de Silicon para Amputaciones Transfemorales que llevara a cabo la Sociedad Méxicana de Ortesistas y Protesistas.... read more - Alberto E. Castillo Moreno O.P.   8/4/2001