Guest guest Posted June 25, 2006 Report Share Posted June 25, 2006 bad casting can make the cf worse.... btdt. Re: AFO Bracing Thanks guys for all of your support and suggestions. I am definitely going to research more. Jaiden is otherwise a healthy child and is developing normally and is a very active child. He started to be cast at 3 weeks and he had serial cast for 6 weeks with little improvement. It was very obvious that he was not cast properly for several reasons. I believe because of his first cast that it hindered and make his deformity worse. I think this is why Dr. Frick believes he has neurogenic cf. > Hi everyone, > > My name is Nan and I am looking for some advice. I posted a message on > this site a few months back when my son was only 9 weeks old. I > received wonderful advice. My son is now 6 months old and has had the > tenotomy done 4 weeks ago. He is scheduled to wear his cast for 1 > more week. At this time he will go in braces. His doctor is Dr. > Frick, Md from Charlotte, NC. He has stated all along that he > felt like my son, Jaiden, had neurogenic clubfeet. Meaning that he > will have to wear braces for the rest of his life. Is anyone familiar > with AFO bracing. I am a bit proplexed and overwhelmed with everything > that is going on. Dr. Frick says Jaiden's condition is very rare > because outside of the fact he has clubfeet there are no other > abnormalities that he can find that usually go along with neurogenic > clubfeet. Can anyone other any advice on the subject of neurogenic > clubfeet. I feel like I am rambling and not really getting across > what I am trying to say. I hope everyone understands what I am asking. > Your suggestion were so helpful before. > > Thanks Alot > Nan > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 29, 2006 Report Share Posted June 29, 2006 Thanks a lot for all of the insight you gave me. I am wondering because Dr. Frick stated that he believed Jaiden has neurogenic clubfeet, is this why he wanted him to go in AFO bracing. I know it was mentioned that children with other problems other than clubfeet this type of bracing my be chosen. Can anyone offer me an explaination as to why this type of bracing would be used or give places where I may go and look it up. Jaiden has been through a lot. His first series of casting was done improperly and caused his condition to be worse. I definitely do not want to do anything to put him through the hurdle his about to overcome. You all have been so helpful. I think God for this web cite everyday. If anyone can offer any more help I will greatly appreciate it. Thanks Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 30, 2006 Report Share Posted June 30, 2006 In many cases the AFO during the day and DBB at night when children have weaker muscles that prevent them from learning to walk. Also, many children with spina bifida and other muscular issues wear them because their muscles are tighter, and so they are more prone to always relapsing because those muscles never relax. I hope that makes sense. I would find out more info on why he wants your son in the AFO, and what benefits he sees from it. I would also wonder under what guidelines he is able to diagnose your son with neurogenic clubfoot. So, start with collecting more information, but I would really want to know why he doesn't want to at least start your son in the DBB 23 hours a day. This is standard, and would do more good in holding correction than the AFO. 11/19/04 shyrod868 wrote: Thanks a lot for all of the insight you gave me. I am wondering because Dr. Frick stated that he believed Jaiden has neurogenic clubfeet, is this why he wanted him to go in AFO bracing. I know it was mentioned that children with other problems other than clubfeet this type of bracing my be chosen. Can anyone offer me an explaination as to why this type of bracing would be used or give places where I may go and look it up. Jaiden has been through a lot. His first series of casting was done improperly and caused his condition to be worse. I definitely do not want to do anything to put him through the hurdle his about to overcome. You all have been so helpful. I think God for this web cite everyday. If anyone can offer any more help I will greatly appreciate it. Thanks Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 30, 2006 Report Share Posted June 30, 2006 Nan, My understanding is that an AFO is usually used to provide stability, and usually limits ankle side to side motion, is also usually used for surgically corrected feet, not feet corrected by casting and a tenotomy. That's why I have one for my clubfoot as an adult. I was trying to google neurogenic clubfoot and AFO but didn't find a lot of info that would help you. What I still don't understand is why Dr. Frick thinks Jaiden has neurogenic CF if he doesn't have any other neurological symptoms. In a previous post you said something about it being because the bad casting made his foot worse. This is a common problem, and I've never heard any connection between a foot getting worse and neurogenic CF. Bad casts, slipping casts, can and do make CF worse -- many feet that are considered " atypical " or " complex " are actually caused by bad casting. Also, is he still planning on having him sleep in the FAB, and use the AFO for daytime? If an AFO only is used for a dynamic clubfoot - where there is a neurological reason that the muscles/tendons are not able to stay in the corrected position, the foot would turn back in because the AFO wouldn't be able to hold the outward rotation. In children with spina bifida for instance, AFO's are often used after surgical correction to maintain a plantigrade foot. But Jaiden is developing normally - have you had him evaluated by your local early intervention people? And what does your pediatrician think? If no one is seeing any neurological connection then I think he should be treated with the regular FAB to maintain correction and if Dr. Frick has another reason to put him in an AFO for the rest of the day that might be fine. But in reality, the FAB is the only brace known to hold a non-surgically corrrected foot. Here's what I would do, ask Dr. Frick all of these questions, come back and let us know. Also, once he gets out of casts take pictures of his foot and send it to Dr. Ponseti (and send some to us too), tell him everything that Dr. Frick has told you and ask him what you should do. I would bet that Jaiden's feet are going to need the Ponseti/ brace instead of the traditional open toed Markell shoes. You can get a jump on this by talking to Dr. Frick now and going ahead with ordering the P/M's now by contacting at MDOthopaedics http://www.mdorthopaedics.com/ You can call him directly at 1-800-PONSETI. Hope this helps, Mom to Jenna (4/7/01) & Sammy (9/25/04, RCF, Dobbs brace 12hrs/day) > > > Thanks a lot for all of the insight you gave me. I am wondering > because Dr. Frick stated that he believed Jaiden has neurogenic > clubfeet, is this why he wanted him to go in AFO bracing. I know it > was mentioned that children with other problems other than clubfeet > this type of bracing my be chosen. Can anyone offer me an > explaination as to why this type of bracing would be used or give > places where I may go and look it up. Jaiden has been through a lot. > His first series of casting was done improperly and caused his > condition to be worse. I definitely do not want to do anything to put > him through the hurdle his about to overcome. You all have been so > helpful. I think God for this web cite everyday. If anyone can offer > any more help I will greatly appreciate it. > > Thanks > Nan > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 30, 2006 Report Share Posted June 30, 2006 Ooops!, that's 1-877-PONSETI (not 800). > > > > > > Thanks a lot for all of the insight you gave me. I am wondering > > because Dr. Frick stated that he believed Jaiden has neurogenic > > clubfeet, is this why he wanted him to go in AFO bracing. I know it > > was mentioned that children with other problems other than clubfeet > > this type of bracing my be chosen. Can anyone offer me an > > explaination as to why this type of bracing would be used or give > > places where I may go and look it up. Jaiden has been through a lot. > > His first series of casting was done improperly and caused his > > condition to be worse. I definitely do not want to do anything to put > > him through the hurdle his about to overcome. You all have been so > > helpful. I think God for this web cite everyday. If anyone can offer > > any more help I will greatly appreciate it. > > > > Thanks > > Nan > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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