Bar Length

[Guest guest]

Jescie,

the heels should just fit outside the shoulders. Just put the bar up

to her shoulders and see if they fit inside the heels. Or, the

distance bolt to bolt (under the shoes) should be shoulder

width. Or, somewhere in between. By far, most babies are comfortable

at the heel to heel width however there are some that do better at

bolt to bolt.

Does that help?

Kori

At 09:33 AM 4/8/2006, you wrote:

>Is the bar length supposed to be set so the shoes are on the outside of

>their shoudlers, or the inside of their shoulders?

>

>Thank you,

>

>Jescie and Sierra PM 18/7

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[Guest guest]

I'll give it a go with Hayden!

frogabog wrote: you know Christee, I think you might

be onto something. Try this,

put the brace on the floor soles down. Lie Lilee in between the

shoes with her shoulders at the heels. Does it fit

comfortably? (not snug, not loose)

Is this easy?

Anyone else with little babies please et me know how this compares to

trying to size the bar with baby upright. Easier or not?

If anyone does this and has a camera handy I'd love to see any

pictures of you trying this out. Darbi is way too old to test this

with myself lol.

Kori

At 11:00 PM 4/8/2006, you wrote:

>I recently was told that I was not correctly understanding the way the

>bar should be measured. So here is the right way I was told to measure.

>The shoes should be on the OUTSIDE of their shoulders. So measure their

>shoulders from outer to outer. It is easier and more accurate to do

>this while laying them down. And compare that length to INNER heal to

>INNER heal.

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[Guest guest]

From what I understand is that the length of the bar is determined by

the width of the shoulders. The brace should measure from heel to heel

the same width as the little guy's shoulders.

Bar Length

I posted a few days ago about our son, Zachary, just going into the DBB

and having difficulty with slipping and sleeping. Thanks to the

responses, we have been able to get rid of the slipping and blister

problems thus far.

However, I was just looking at the picture of the bar width in the

photo gallery and I realized that our son's may be way too short, which

explains why he's having trouble getting comfortable at night. I'm

going to go check that now. He has a gold bar and it is 7 inches (as

indicated on the sticker at the bottom of the bar). Zack is just over

three months old. Is 7 inches too short?

[Guest guest]

While there is certainly a range of bar lengths at which children are

comfortable, in my experience here and with my own son, most children are most

comfortable when the FAB/DBB is set up so that the distance between the heels of

the shoes is the same as the width of the child's shoulders.

7 inches is a tiny bar--especially if your son has bilateral clubfoot! There is

an easy way to check if your bar is the right length: hold the FAB up to

Zachary's shoulders, he should fit right between the shoes. You can also lie

the FAB on the floor and see if you can lie Zachary between the shoes.

Unfortunately, many orthotists do not realize (or want to believe) that a bar

that is too short can be very uncomfortable, so you might have to fight a little

to get a bar that is long enough. Your best official source for back-up is the

Global-HELP booklet.

http://www.global-help.org/publications/Ponseti.2Ed.pdf

In the section on bracing, page 16, it states very clearly:

" The bar should be of sufficient length so that the heels of the shoes are at

shoulder width. A common error is to prescribe too short a bar, which the child

finds uncomfortable. A narrow brace is a common reason

for a lack of compliance. "

Hopefully this will help some. I know that my son is very sensitive to the fit

of his FAB and making sure that it is the right length makes a world of

difference in how well he sleeps!

Please let us know if there are other questions we can help you with.

Naomi

The Family, North Coast of California

Naomi Hannah(2/21/1) Jonah(6/20/3, corrected BCF, FAB 12-14/7)

trelsayed wrote: I posted a few days ago about our

son, Zachary, just going into the DBB

and having difficulty with slipping and sleeping. Thanks to the

responses, we have been able to get rid of the slipping and blister

problems thus far.

However, I was just looking at the picture of the bar width in the

photo gallery and I realized that our son's may be way too short, which

explains why he's having trouble getting comfortable at night. I'm

going to go check that now. He has a gold bar and it is 7 inches (as

indicated on the sticker at the bottom of the bar). Zack is just over

three months old. Is 7 inches too short?

[Guest guest]

I measured Zack and the FAB/DBB and there is no way that even half of

him would fit between the heels of the shoes. It sounds to me like

we're going to be making a trip back into Toronto to talk to the

orthosist who fitted him about getting a longer bar. I wonder if

we'll have to pay for another new bar? Hm? He's only had the 7 " bar

for 1 week.

I posted a few days ago about

our son, Zachary, just going into the DBB

> and having difficulty with slipping and sleeping. Thanks to the

> responses, we have been able to get rid of the slipping and

blister

> problems thus far.

>

> However, I was just looking at the picture of the bar width in the

> photo gallery and I realized that our son's may be way too short,

which

> explains why he's having trouble getting comfortable at night.

I'm

> going to go check that now. He has a gold bar and it is 7 inches

(as

> indicated on the sticker at the bottom of the bar). Zack is just

over

> three months old. Is 7 inches too short?

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

From what I understand is that the length of the bar is determined by

the width of the shoulders. The brace should measure from heel to heel

the same width as the little guy's shoulders.

Bar Length

I posted a few days ago about our son, Zachary, just going into the DBB

and having difficulty with slipping and sleeping. Thanks to the

responses, we have been able to get rid of the slipping and blister

problems thus far.

However, I was just looking at the picture of the bar width in the

photo gallery and I realized that our son's may be way too short, which

explains why he's having trouble getting comfortable at night. I'm

going to go check that now. He has a gold bar and it is 7 inches (as

indicated on the sticker at the bottom of the bar). Zack is just over

three months old. Is 7 inches too short?

[Guest guest]

Our daughter started out with a 7 " bar that WAS way too short for her! This

cause slipping,sores, and yes, I do believe that it can cause knee and hip

problems in the long run. Return that thing and demand that they give you an

appropriate size! My daughter is 9 1/2 months old now, and she is in a 10 " .

Christee

Mother of...

*Josh~Learning/Speech Delays (9)

**Aspen~ Bilateral Metatarsus Adductus (6)

***Dylan~PTSD/Anxiety (4)

****Lilee~A-Typical UCF w/Plantaris ® & Metatarsus Adductus (L)

*P/M Brace 16-18/24.Struggling w/pressure sores (8 months)

Concidering Dobbs bar & braces

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[Guest guest]

Hello, I think I need to lengthen the bar on Janie's PM's I need to

know if it is shoulder length from heel to heel. I know I need to hold

it up to her shoulders but what exactly am I measuring.

Thanks,

Dorthy

[Guest guest]

I believe it is from heel to heel. I tried searching for info in the files

section of the group but couldn't find it. You may also want to email your Dr.

just to make sure. Sorry I could not be of more help.

LaRena

[Guest guest]

Hi,

This is a copy paste from a mail from Dr. Ponseti for

my son Abhay. Abhay's wearing the Markells tho' and i

don't know if it's different from the PM's.

" I recommend that you measure the distance from the

outside of Abhay's left shoulder to the outside of the

right shoulder. The bar should be this same length as

measured from the center screw on the footplate of one

shoe to the center screw on the footplate of the other

shoe. "

Hope that helps!

Anju

--- Dorthy wrote:

> Hello, I think I need to lengthen the bar on Janie's

> PM's I need to

> know if it is shoulder length from heel to heel. I

> know I need to hold

> it up to her shoulders but what exactly am I

> measuring.

> Thanks,

> Dorthy

>

>

>

>

>

>

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[Guest guest]

In the instruction sheet for the P/Ms it says that

the distance between the shoulders should be

the same as the distance between the centers

of the *backs* of the heels (I think this is roughly

the same as what Dr. P told Anju).

hth,

Kim

anju sharma wrote:

Hi,

This is a copy paste from a mail from Dr. Ponseti for

my son Abhay. Abhay's wearing the Markells tho' and i

don't know if it's different from the PM's.

" I recommend that you measure the distance from the

outside of Abhay's left shoulder to the outside of the

right shoulder. The bar should be this same length as

measured from the center screw on the footplate of one

shoe to the center screw on the footplate of the other

shoe. "

Hope that helps!

Anju

--- Dorthy wrote:

> Hello, I think I need to lengthen the bar on Janie's

> PM's I need to

> know if it is shoulder length from heel to heel. I

> know I need to hold

> it up to her shoulders but what exactly am I

> measuring.

> Thanks,

> Dorthy

>

>

>

>

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>

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