Methods: Eight children with cerebral palsy wore a modified FRAFO bilaterally for six weeks. Motion analysis was used to assess the immediate effectiveness of the orthosis on improving gait and also following six weeks of gradual orthosis use. Primary outcome measures were walking speed, cadence and stride length, plus hip, knee and ankle joint ranges of motion. A paired T test was used to comp...

Introduction Several methods to decrease foot pressure applying foot orthosis wedge or gait strategies by evaluating foot pressure increased abnormally by various foot diseases are under investigation [1]. Recently, studies on foot orthosis, diabetic shoes and old people footwear have been conducted, but there have been a few studies on orthotic devices such as metatarsal pad, dome and wedge [2...

This paper describes the development and preliminary testing of a functional upper-limb orthosis for people that have limited strength in their arms. This is symptomatic of conditions such as muscular dystrophy (MD), spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), and partial spinal cord injury. The exoskeletal orthosis is wheelchair mounted, has two links and four degrees of freedom. It uses linear elastic ele...

spinal cord injury (sci) is damage to spinal cord, which is categorized according to the extent of functional loss, sensation loss and inability of the subjects to stand and walk. the patients use two transportation systems including orthosis and wheelchair. it was claimed that standing and walking bring some benefits such as decreasing bone osteoporosis, prevention of pressure sores, and impro...

This study examined the use of a bidirectional, patient-directed orthosis that used the principles of static progressive stress to improve forearm rotation. Thirty-eight patients who had limited pronation and supination motions after injuries and who failed other physical therapy techniques underwent a 30- to 60-minute stretching protocol with the orthosis one to three times per day. The mean a...

Plastics are extensively used as a material for orthoses. However, one remaining problem is the ventilation of the orthosis. This is a real problem in countries such as Japan, where it is hot and humid especially in summer. The authors have invented a new orthosis "POROPLAST", which is made of mesh plastic sheets, combined in a cross-like weave. These orthoses provide good ventilation and are v...

Background During speech, larynx is higher in the neck for high-pitched sounds and lower for low-pitched sounds. Patients with different problems in cervical and cervicothoracic spine use cervical orthosis to limit cervical motion. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of Minerva orthosis on larynx height in young, healthy volunteers. Subjects and methods This study included 18 subjects. A...

A single-subject rapidly alternating treatment design was used to compare the effectiveness of bilateral hand splints and an elbow orthosis in decreasing stereotypic hand behaviors and increasing toy play in 2 children with Rett syndrome. The subjects' responses were compared across three treatment conditions: no intervention, hand splints, and elbow orthosis. The order of the treatment phases ...