The purpose of this project was to measure the stiffness of the Arizona ankle-foot orthosis (AFO) before and after it was modified for gait analysis with a foot specific marker set. Five Arizona AFOs were tested in the intact condition in a custom testing device in the sagittal and coronal planes. After testing in the intact condition, 2.5-cm diameter holes were drilled in the malleoli and the ...

For patients suffering from drop foot due to weakness of ankle dorsiflexion muscles, an orthosis provides increased clearance during the swing phase gait, but often restricts other gait functions, such as plantarflexion. Due steady progress in development lighter and smaller actuator technologies, active wearable devices exosuits become relevant for rehabilitation, since they can offer extended...

Ankle-Foot-Orthoses (AFOs) are assistive devices used for neurological and physical disorders affecting the movement of lower limbs. The needs an increasingly young active orthotic patient population have led to advancements in ankle foot orthosis (AFO) design materials enable higher function. Proper selection material manufacturing AFO leads greater increase popularity patients during walking ...

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the ankle angle of an ankle foot orthosis (AFO) on foot pressure during the gait in healthy adults. [Subjects] Sixteen healthy males with neither orthopedic nor neurological problems participated in this study. [Methods] Subjects walked on a walkway at a self-selected pace with an AFO set at four different ankle angles (-5°, ...

OBJECTIVE The aims of this study were: (i) to compare the neuro-prosthetic effect of implantable peroneal nerve stimulation to the orthotic effect of a standard of care intervention (no device, shoe or ankle foot orthosis) on walking, as assessed by spatiotemporal parameters; and (ii) to examine whether there is evidence of an enhanced lower-limb flexion reflex with peroneal nerve stimulation a...

Introduction Most lower limb orthoses cannot be used without footwear. Occasionally, barefoot walking by patients fitted with orthoses may be necessary due to economic circumstances, to satisfy the dictates of religion, or for other reasons, such as the discomfort of conventional footwear in hot and humid climates. Invariably a boot or shoe is the foundation for an orthosis, with a stirrup rive...

Background Knee osteoarthritis is a debilitating condition and increased dynamic loading at the knee has been linked with increased progression of the disease. Lateral wedge insoles have been used in clinical practice since the late 1980s. It is theorised that lateral wedge insoles increase the subtalar joint valgus orientation and increase the ankle valgus moment [1], with subsequent reduced k...

In this study, we performed a kinematic analysis of a new, low-cost sling for the lower limb, compared to a common ankle-foot orthosis (AFO). Gait with no orthosis, with the AFO, and with the new sling was analyzed in one hemiplegic subject. Both the AFO and the sling reduced the mean angle and ROM (range of movement) of the ankle and the vertical displacement of the center of mass. The sling, ...