objectives: this paper describes further improvement and preliminarily evaluation of a novel viscoelastic ankle-foot prosthesis prototype. the objective was to control the ankle hysteresis at slow and normal walking speeds. methods: inspired by the ankle biomechanics, in which the hysteresis differs based on the gait speeds, a manually damping control mechanism imbedded in the prosthesis for ad...

BACKGROUND Improving ankle-foot orthosis design can best be done by implementing a user-centered approach. OBJECTIVE To provide insight into the ideas of ankle-foot orthosis users with flaccid ankle muscle paresis on the importance of activities and suggestions for an improved ankle-foot orthosis design. STUDY DESIGN A focus-group discussion with eight ankle-foot orthosis users (57 ± 5 year...

Improved walking comfort has been linked with better bio-mimicking of the prosthetic ankle. This study investigated if a hydraulic ankle/foot can provide enough motion in both the sagittal and frontal planes during level and camber walking and if the hydraulic ankle/foot better mimics the biological ankle moment pattern compared with a fixed ankle/foot device. Five active male unilateral trans-...

BACKGROUND In stroke and multiple sclerosis patients, gait is frequently hampered by a reduced ability to push-off with the ankle caused by weakness of the plantar-flexor muscles. To enhance ankle push-off and to decrease the high energy cost of walking, spring-like carbon-composite Ankle Foot Orthoses are frequently prescribed. However, it is unknown what Ankle Foot Orthoses stiffness should b...

OBJECTIVE To compare walking energy cost between an anterior and a posterior ankle-foot orthosis in people with foot drop. DESIGN Within-group comparisons. PARTICIPANTS Twenty-three adults (14 women, 9 men; mean age 56.8 years (standard deviation 15.4)) with foot drop. METHODS PARTICIPANTS were asked to walk for 5 min at their self-selected walking speed under 3 conditions: (i) with shoes...

Ankle and foot problems not only affect the general population, it also affects the dancers and athletes community. Bharathanatyam is one of the ancient classical dances in India which is a part of natya shastra a bible of classical dances. A total of 50 female bharathanatyam dancers were participated in this study. Arches of the foot were analyzed using plantar scan images (PSI) and the ankle ...

Ankle-foot orthoses are commonly used in the treatment of spastic cerebral palsy to hold the foot in a position conductive to a more functional gait. This study, utilizing quantitative biomechanical techniques, evaluates the effects of a rigid ankle-foot orthosis and a hinged ankle-foot orthosis on spastic cerebral palsy gait. The subject was a 4.5 year old female diagnosed as spastic diplegic ...

BACKGROUND Surgical specialties have become increasingly subspecialized. An expanding demand for foot and ankle care administered by trained specialists has driven the need for foot and ankle-trained orthopaedic surgeons. This survey was designed to elucidate the reasons why residents choose a career in foot and ankle surgery. METHODS We conducted a national, anonymous, 11-question survey of ...