Re: Gait analysis in a patient with severe Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease: a case study

[Guest guest]

Hi!

Could you please send me any resources you have on orthotics, my father will be

needing a new pair soon and I want to explore as many options as possible. Or

could you point me in the right direction? Thanks for the article you posted!

>

> Eur J Phys Rehabil Med. 2010 Sep;46(3):355-6

>

> Gait analysis in a patient with severe Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease: a case

study with a new orthotic device for footdrop.

>

> Vinci P, Paoloni M, Ioppolo F, Gargiulo P, Santilli V.

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> Rehabilitation Service, Italian Charcot-Marie-Tooth Association, Rome, Italy

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> Abstract

> Management of footdrop in severe Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) patients is a

challenge owing to the combination of quadriceps muscle weakness, distal

muscular atrophy, sensory impairment and poor soft tissue resistance to the

placement of an orthotic device. We present a case study of a patient who

gradually became unable to use his ankle-foot orthoses because they hampered the

compensative movements required to stabilize his knees passively and caused

pain. The aim of this report is to describe orthotic management in such a severe

CMT case and to present a new orthotic device that we devised for the footdrop

in this patient.

>

> We provided him with 3 different footdrop devices, each of which was highly

elastic to allow knee hyperextension, and left him free to decide which one to

use: 1) the silicone-ankle-foot orthoses were rapidly discarded because of pain;

2) the Codivilla support was not used because of discomfort and poor aesthetic

appearance; 3) a new device, called the " Soft Footdrop Insert " (SFI), consisting

of a sheet of Veolform, a reticulated polyolephinic foam, stuck to the counter

of midcalf boots, was found to be effective, comfortable, pain-free and

aesthetically acceptable, and was consequently used the vast majority of the

time.

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> At a 3-year follow-up, an instrumental gait analysis, in which ordinary shoes

were compared with the Codivilla support and the SFI, revealed that both the

Codivilla support and the SFI controlled footdrop more effectively than ordinary

shoes and increased swing and mean velocity; in addition, the SFI yielded the

best gait performances. We think that a soft, invisible device, such as the SFI,

may satisfy the needs of CMT patients and improve compliance with

orthoses-wearing for footdrop.

>

[Guest guest]

,

Some resources for orthotics, AFOs, other braces. Perhaps your orthopedist or

neurologist can give you others.

Reber, CPO

Prosthetics and Orthotics

Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics

5100 Belmar Blvd

Farmingdale, NJ 07727 Tel: 732-919-7774

Chu, CPO

Prosthetics and Orthotics

Valley Prosthetics and Orthotics, Inc.

2200 W. Hamilton St, Suite 201

town, PA 18104 Tel: 610-770-1515

Gretchen