What Is A Afo Drop Foot Brace?

An AFO drop foot brace is a device that is employed to manage an ailment labeled as drop foot; AFO is short for ankle foot orthosis

. Drop foot is a disorder where a person is unable to or has trouble raising their foot at the ankle joint. This could make walking tough for individuals who endure drop foot, as the toes can usually drag the ground, which can result in the sufferer stumbling or becoming unstable on their feet. Patients with drop foot make up for the situation through employing the muscles in their hip to pick the foot up above the floor, this is known as a steppage gait, or otherwise they could compensate through swinging the leg to the outside so that the foot clears the ground, that is labelled as circumduction.

As a treatment for drop foot, several people make use of a drop foot brace, also identified as an ankle foot orthosis (AFO) to assist patients to possess a more normal gait. There are several different types of braces employed in the treatment of drop foot, the kind of brace utilized will be based upon a patients own particular condition. In therapy, an AFO can be employed in several different strategies to help the wearer; in order to have a better knowledge of how a drop foot brace works an individual must understand the movement in the ankle and foot areas.

Essentially, there are two standard movements which take place at the ankle joint, one is recognized as dorsiflexion and the other is labeled as plantarflexion. Dorsiflexion is the movement which the ankle does to make the foot point up; plantarflexion is the motion which the ankle does to make the toes point down. Dorsiflexion is the motion which has to occur when the foot lifts off the floor so that an individual from dragging their toes on the floor; folks who are suffering from drop foot usually are suffering from a partial or total weakness of the muscles that give the dorsiflex for the foot at the ankle.

One kind of drop foot brace or AFO which is employed in various cases of drop foot is a brace that is labeled as short leg AFO having a fixed hinge (no flexing at ankle joint). This type of AFO is lightweight and easily fits into a patients shoes. This AFO affords excellent control over the foot for the patient and is perfect for those who go through drop foot and also are afflicted by a very flat foot. A short leg AFO supports the foot at a ninety-degree angle to the leg and can also help keep unwanted rotation of the foot from happening. This type of undesired rotation can frequently affect individuals who have sustained a cerebrovascular accident or Charcot-Marie Tooth.

The drawback for employing the fixed hinge short leg brace for drop foot is that this type of brace does let plantar flexion or dorsifexion to occur, the result is that patients aren't given as natural gait as they may encounter with other styles of braces. Another downside is that it's a short brace that does not function as well on patients who are tall; several treatment centers recommend a different kind of brace for individuals that are over 6' tall.

A fixed hinge short leg brace is merely an example of the various kinds of drop foot braces which are available. If you're someone which you know are in need of a lot more information on leg braces, you need to communicate with Bracemasters for additional info on the AFOs and on the products which Bracemasters offers. Their site is www.bracemasters.com or you could reach them toll free at 888-790-6880, email at Info@bracemasters.com.

by: John F Smith

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