Individual stiffness optimization of dorsal leaf spring ankle-foot orthoses in people with calf muscle weakness is superior to standard bodyweight-based recommendations.

ABSTRACT:

Background

In people with calf muscle weakness, the stiffness of dorsal leaf spring ankle-foot orthoses (DLS-AFO) needs to be individualized to maximize its effect on walking. Orthotic suppliers may recommend a certain stiffness based on body weight and activity level. However, it is unknown whether these recommendations are sufficient to yield the optimal stiffness for the individual. Therefore, we assessed whether the stiffness following the supplier's recommendation of the Carbon Ankle7 (CA7) dorsal leaf matched the experimentally optimized AFO stiffness.

Methods

Thirty-four persons with calf muscle weakness were included and provided a new DLS-AFO of which the stiffness could be varied by changing the CA7® (Ottobock, Duderstadt, Germany) dorsal leaf. For five different s

SUBMITTER: Waterval NFJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8186056 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature