Guide to wearing AFOs

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This is from CMT United Kingdom's website.

A Personal Guide to living with AFOs

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, Canterbury

When I was handed my first pair of AFOs at Ipswich Hospital, I was grateful

but also taken aback. What were these strange, plastic L-shapes which I was

supposed to wear on my legs for the rest of my life? Where was my " Guide to

Wearing AFOs " , a " How to use AFOs " leaflet? Nowhere! No information, no

guide, not even a friendly chat! Instead I was given my new supports in a

bag and sent on my way. Twenty three years later, I feel able to write my

own guide to wearing AFOs - so here it is.

First though, I should say that the tips I have accumulated over the years

are borne of only my own personal experience of CMT and of my own AFOs. I

wear AFOs every day, and they enable me to walk as far and as quickly as I

would wish. I have tried SAFOs, which were comfortable but did not offer

enough support.

Living with orthotics!Here then, are my own personal Top Ten Tips:

1. Get an excellent orthotist. I have been going to the The Tebbit

Centre at the Nuffield Hospital, Oxford, for well over ten years. If you are

recommended an orthotist who is not in your local area, your doctor can

write a letter arranging for you to be seen there. Some of the orthotists to

whom I was referred in the early years were real cowboys.

2. Adjust your footware and clothing to accommodate the new addition to

your wardrobe. Make a feature of wearing stylish, comfortable clothes.

Concentrate attention away from your feet; if you are femal and invited to a

wedding, buy a big hat! Choose good, comfortable shoes or ankle boots -

probably two or three sizes bigger than you have been used to wearing. Good

brands are Ecco, Scholl, and Comfort Sko (0800 1389559 for a brochure).

There's no point in clinging to the idea that you must wear heels or

uncomfortable fashion shoes if you simply can't walk in them. If they are

painful you will be overcome with misery. Be comfortable and enjoy!

3. No matter how well-fitted your AFOs are, there are times, if you walk

a lot, that your feet will become sore. Everyone has their own methods to

prevent this from happening, depending on the nature of their CMT and the

shape of their feet, but this is what I do:

A real comfort essential: buy two pairs of shoe insoles, the sort you find

at the Scholls section in Boots. Be sure to get the ones with fabric on one

side (usually the ones which are designed to combat foot odour). The extra

expense is worth it. When you get home, put two of the insoles together, the

fabric side on the outside, and cut through both thicknesses to fit the

inside of your AFO. Do the same with the other two insoles for your other

foot. The fabric prevents wear, in the way that the rubbery surfaces do not.

Invest in soft, cotton, over-the-knee socks (Jonelle used to make really

soft ones, in all different colours). Put them on, put on your AFOs with

their soft insoles in place, fold the tops of the socks down over the tops

of the AFOs. This prevents the socks from sliding down. Over each foot I

then put an opaque, black pop-sock with its top and bottom cut off. The toes

are then left uncovered for maximum comfort inside your shoe - and the pop

sock doesn't bit into your ankle at the other end. It may seem a bit drastic

to start snipping away at pop-socks, but go on, be a devil! Then put your

shoe on. The pop-sock prevents a loud squeak accompanying your every step,

and also conveniently disguises the AFOs at the shoe/trouser gap. Often in

shades of shocking pink, euphemistically described as " flesh-coloured " they

are not designed with fashion camouflage in mind.

4. Don't accept ankle straps as well as a top strap on AFOs if you feel

you don't need them. Often good shoes or ankle boots will hold the AFOs

securely in place, whereas an ankle strap is just additional bulk.

5. Ask the orthotist to cut a long hole down the back of each AFO. This

does not affect their strength and makes them cooler to wear, especially in

summer.

6. For occasional sore spots, or for ongoing use, buy chiropody felt in

bulk and cut it to suit your own requirements. Buying it in little packs is

very expensive. If the ball of your foot under your little toe get sore, cut

an L-shape to go round it and take the pressure off. I order 22.5cm x 45cm

felt sheets from Mobilis Healthcare Group, tel: 0161 633 5333. (Lot 1937

code FEL-005X 008092) www.mobilispodiatry.com

<http://www.mobilispodiatry.com/>

7. When going swimming, travelling by air or going on holiday, take a

lightweight BIG scrunch-up bag with handles, that can hold the AFOs. On a

long flight it's easier, and less frightening for fellow passengers, to go

to the loo to remove your shoes and AFOs. Go back carefully to your seat

wearing warm socks, with your shoes and AFOs in the bag, which you can put

under your seat.

8. If you have toes that bend down, you can get a " widget " for each foot

from a chiropodist. This is a small roll of soft " flesh coloured " plastic

that is moulded to the shape of your under-toes. Tuck it in under your toes

before you put on your socks. It keeps the toes straighter and so stops the

tips of your toes from getting a thumping.

9. If you are undressing in communal changing rooms, tottering about the

sides of a swimming pool, etc, don't give a damn about what the others may

think and concentrate on what you want to do.

10. Retain a sense of humour and a positive attitude. Instead of cursing

AFOs, think of all the things they allow you to do, how you are living a

full life and looking stylish in spite of them - also how they have helped

you to look at others with similar or much more serious conditions with

greater empathy and understanding.

Last Updated ( Tuesday, 22 July 2008 )