Moving soft orthotic to improve gait

[funnylegs4]

A friend just showed this to me. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UffOrwSO-HE Apparently it is designed to help people with disabilities like Cerebral Palsy have a more aligned gait. Looks like a tiny robot to me. I really like the natural flow to the movement. Certainly keeping this in mind when it becomes available! It is still being developed at the moment. I know if I were a parent of a kid with CP or other gait effecting disability I'd really like the look of this so that is why I am sharing. It would be cool if using things like this reduced the need for surgeries in people with gait issues.

[andromeda31]

Hi!

That looks really cool! We are having a bad time with Caitlin's AFO's. She has always hated wearing them and it has just gotten worse...of course the more 'breaks' we give her from wearing them, the worse her feet have been turning out (best way to picture is to picture a mermaid tail...that is how much they turn outwards!). I actually have to call the orthotic guy tomorrow to make an appt to have them looked at. I started putting one of them on at bedtime just to get some more time in them...she is not happy about that. Left on odd days, right on even days.

Lisa O.

[Earth Mother 2 Angels]

((((((funnylegs4))))))

Fascinating! Thank you for sharing this with us!

Love & Light,

Rose

[funnylegs4]

Hi!

That looks really cool! We are having a bad time with Caitlin's AFO's. She has always hated wearing them and it has just gotten worse...of course the more 'breaks' we give her from wearing them, the worse her feet have been turning out (best way to picture is to picture a mermaid tail...that is how much they turn outwards!). I actually have to call the orthotic guy tomorrow to make an appt to have them looked at. I started putting one of them on at bedtime just to get some more time in them...she is not happy about that. Left on odd days, right on even days.

Lisa O.

Yeah AFO's were a huge pain in the butt for me to wear. I wore them to sleep after my 2nd surgery. If she wants to wear the AFOs even less than usual it might mean they are the wrong size and need to be adjusted. Because I couldn't stand wearing the AFOs I had my PT show me how to align my feet in the same position that the AFO would put them in while standing. I could only stop my feet from turning in without the AFO for about 5 seconds at a time but we slowly incresed the amount of time over a few months of therapy. Finally I gained enough control that I stopped using the AFO. When I stopped using the AFO I had no relapse. Since a general Physical Therapist was able to teach me this you might be able to get Caitlin's PT to do something similar to help her out. I personally think AFO's are pretty ineffective because they train you to be dependent on them. I think the moving orthotic would also help Caitlin big time.