Understanding Foot Conditions – PAC’s Clinical Practice Guidelines

To consider a recommendation for orthopaedic products, a Canadian Certified Pedorthist must consider medical need. This is determined by: (a) the medical condition or diagnosis; and (b) the structural abnormality or irregularity present.

A medical condition or diagnosis involves identifying a disease or disorder as the cause of a person’s symptoms. Orthopaedic medical conditions are the result of three main causes:

• Congenital deformity;
• Disease process; or
• Injury/trauma/wound.

Identifying the structural abnormality or irregularity contributing to the dysfunction is also imperative when determining the medical need for an orthopaedic product. These orthopaedic abnormalities can be divided into three main categories:

• Foot deformity;
• Foot, lower limb, and pelvis misalignment and dysfunction; and
• Neurological and vascular deficiencies.

These lists encompass a vast array of back, pelvis, hip, lower limb, and foot conditions.

In 2012, the Pedorthic Association of Canada released its first ever Clinical Practice Guidelines to identify evidence-based best practice and recent literature on a broad range of foot and lower limb issues. A team of over 100 Canadian Certified Pedorthists and other foot experts worked together to write and review guidelines for over 60 foot and lower limb conditions that pedorthists see in the course of their work.

While highly technical in nature, it is a very useful tool for understanding the range of work performed by Canadian Certified Pedorthists. With its extensive body of citations, the publication also demonstrates the extensive research and study that support pedorthic treatment.

In April 2018, PAC released the second edition of its Clinical Practical Guidelines. The new edition features updates, revisions, and seven new chapters.

Download – A Resource for Canada’s Insurance Industry as a PDF