Re: Question about braces.

[Guest guest]

Hello All,

I've used three forms of AFO on the left and one shoe insert on the

right. The left has been a " simple " thermoplastic brace with no hinges

except a degree of flexibility which allows some minor tipping of the

foot (fore and aft), a two-piece simple thermoplastic brace with a flex

link hinge that allows greater foot tipping (fore and aft), and a

two-piece carbon/glass with opposing springs loaded pivot in Titanium.

The one I wear all of the time is the first one (simple no hinge

controlled flex thermoplastic).

Why? Well the first one was the simple thermoplastic formed one and I

appreciate more and more how skilled the maker was. It is lighter and it

costs less. It did take some repeated reworks to " dial it in " and it has

been replaced with the same design when after many years of use the

plastic fatigued and a fracture formed. I still have it and it is my

backup brace.

The problem with the flex link hinge design was that it was not flexing

in the right place for me and could not be modified without totally

remaking it. I never use it.

The most complex one with the spring controlled pivot hinges in Titanium

was an order of magnitude more expensive, too heavy in spite of the

advanced composite materials used, created pressure points that could not

be alleviated without remaking them (thermoplastic can be reheated and

reformed to alleviate pressure points), and finally made too far from

home to get routine service done on them. I might add that they also gave

up much more mobility than the first simple thermoplastic one.

For me the conclusion is simple - go with the simple one but get a good

local guy to do it personally. The send it out route doesn't work well

for me at all. If your looking for somebody " local " look into The

Pedorthic Footware Association people. http://www.pedorthics.org/

That's all except one thing. They all take a cast of your foot, ankle,

and lower leg to make a mold. THE BOTTOM OF YOUR FOOT IS LATERALLY

ROUNDED! HAVE THEM MAKE IT LATERALLY FLAT ON THE OUTSIDE! It helps a lot

with lateral stability which is what we need the most from an AFO.

I know I'm shouting, but that point is really important.

EdM from NH

____________________________________________________________

Weight Loss Program

Best Weight Loss Program - Click Here!

http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/c?cp=w00sOwyl-NZL6CUZUROdGAAAJ1AMr1HTfN\

H0XR34BW64vMvDAAYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEUgAAAAA=