What is a AFO Drop Foot Brace?

What is a AFO Drop Foot Brace?

What is a AFO Drop Foot Brace?

An AFO drop foot brace is a device that is used to treat a condition known as drop foot; AFO is short for ankle foot orthosis.

Drop foot is a condition in which a person is unable to or has difficulty raising their foot at the ankle joint. This can make walking difficult for those who suffer from drop foot, as the toes can tend to drag the ground, which can result in the sufferer tripping or being unstable on their feet. Patients with drop foot compensate for the problem by using the muscles in their hip to pick the foot up above the ground, this is referred to as a steppage gait, or alternatively they may compensate by swinging the leg to the outside so that the foot clears the ground, which is referred to as circumduction.

As a treatment for drop foot, many patients use a drop foot brace, also known as an ankle foot orthosis (AFO) to help patients to have a more normal gait. There are several different kinds braces of braces used in the treatment of drop foot, the type of brace used will depend upon a patients own particular situation. In treatment, an AFO can work in several different ways to benefit the wearer; in order to have a better understanding of how a drop foot brace works a person needs to have an understanding of the movement in the ankle and foot areas.

Basically, there are two standard movements that happen at the ankle joint, one is known as dorsiflexion and the other is known as plantarflexion. Dorsiflexion is the movement that the ankle does to make the foot point up; plantarflexion is the movement that the ankle does to make the toes point down. Dorsiflexion is the movement that needs to happen when the foot lifts off the ground in order to keep someone from dragging their toes on the ground; people who suffer from drop foot usually are afflicted with a partial or total weakness of the muscles that provide the dorsiflex for the foot at the ankle.

One type of drop foot brace or AFO that is used in some cases of drop foot is a brace that is known as short leg AFO with a fixed hinge (no flexing at ankle joint). This kind of AFO is lightweight and easily fits into a patients shoes. This AFO affords excellent control of the foot for the patient and is good for those who suffer drop foot and also suffer from a very flat foot. A short leg AFO holds the foot at a ninety-degree angle to the leg and can also help keep undesired rotation of the foot from occurring. This type of undesired rotation can often afflict patients who have suffered a stroke or Charcot-Marie Tooth.

The drawback for using the fixed hinge short leg brace for drop foot is that this type of brace does let plantar flexion or dorsifexion to take place, the result is that patients are not given as natural gait as they might experience with other types of braces. Another drawback is that it is a short brace that does not function as well on patients who are tall; some treatment centers recommend a different type brace for patients that are over 6' tall.

A fixed hinge short leg brace is just one example of the different types of drop foot braces that are available. If you are someone that you know are in need of more information on leg braces, you should contact Bracemasters for more information on the AFOs and on the products that Bracemasters offers. Their website is www.bracemasters.com or you can reach them toll free at 888-790-6880, email at Info@bracemasters.com.

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