Orthotics is the medical field concerned with the application and manufacture of orthoses, devices which support or correct the function of a limb or the torso. The term is derived from the Greek "ortho", to straighten, and demonstrates the connection of the field to orthopedics. Sciences such as materials engineering, gait analysis, anatomy and physiology, and psychology contribute to the work done by orthotists, the professionals engaged in the field or orthotics. Individuals who benefit from an orthosis have sustained a physical impairment such as a stroke, spinal cord injury, or a congenital abnormality such as spina bifida or cerebral palsy.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

WalkAide ...another option for drop foot

Dropfoot (also known as drop foot, foot drop and footdrop) is a condition characterized by weakness or paralysis of the muscles involved in lifting the front part of the foot. It causes a person to either drag the foot and toes or engage in a high-stepping walk called steppage gait. A significant number of individuals – men and women, young and old – experience difficulty with the most simple day-to-day activities because of mobility dysfunctions such as peroneal nerve palsy that lead to dropfoot. WalkAide was designed to restore mobility to those individuals seeking a return to independence.

http://www.walkaide.com/EN-US/Pages/default.aspx

WalkAideAnother option for Foot Drop, the WalkAide is a new battery-operated, single-channel electrical stimulator that is used for functional electrical stimulation (FES). It is called a “Neural Prosthesis” and it utilizes a tilt sensor and an accelerometer to determine the position of the lower leg during gait. The device then uses FES to stimulate the dorsiflexor muscles to help control the foot position while walking in an effort to restore normalized leg motion.



The WalkAide is programmed by the Orthotist using a sophisticated computer software program that collects, processes, and optimizes gait data for the unique needs of each patient. The selection criteria for the WalkAide are very specific and not all patients with Foot Drop are appropriate candidates.

http://www.cascadeorthotics.com/html/walkaide.html





Potential candidates include patients who have had:



•Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA)

•Multiple Sclerosis

•Traumatic brain injury

•Incomplete spinal cord injury

•Cerebral Palsy

•Other upper motor neuron or central nervous system involvements
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