Deans' stroke musings: An Advanced Ground Reaction Design Ankle-Foot Orthosis to Improve Gait and Balance in Individuals With Post-Stroke Hemiparesis: A Case Series

Changing stroke rehab and research worldwide now.Time is Brain! trillions and trillions of neurons that DIE each day because there are NO effective hyperacute therapies besides tPA(only 12% effective). I have 523 posts on hyperacute therapy, enough for researchers to spend decades proving them out. These are my personal ideas and blog on stroke rehabilitation and stroke research. Do not attempt any of these without checking with your medical provider. Unless you join me in agitating, when you need these therapies they won't be there.

What this blog is for:

My blog is not to help survivors recover, it is to have the 10 million yearly stroke survivors light fires underneath their doctors, stroke hospitals and stroke researchers to get stroke solved. 100% recovery. The stroke medical world is completely failing at that goal, they don't even have it as a goal. Shortly after getting out of the hospital and getting NO information on the process or protocols of stroke rehabilitation and recovery I started searching on the internet and found that no other survivor received useful information. This is an attempt to cover all stroke rehabilitation information that should be readily available to survivors so they can talk with informed knowledge to their medical staff. It lays out what needs to be done to get stroke survivors closer to 100% recovery. It's quite disgusting that this information is not available from every stroke association and doctors group.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

An Advanced Ground Reaction Design Ankle-Foot Orthosis to Improve Gait and Balance in Individuals With Post-Stroke Hemiparesis: A Case Series

So ask your therapist if this style of AFO would be helpful for you.
http://journals.lww.com/jpojournal/Abstract/2013/01000/An_Advanced_Ground_Reaction_Design_Ankle_Foot.6.aspx

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this case series was to explore the impact of a novel design for an ankle-foot orthosis (AFO) on gait and balance in persons with post-stroke hemiparesis. Five subjects with hemiparesis after cerebrovascular accident were referred for evaluation for an AFO because of gait and balance impairments. All subjects were found to have difficulty in both the swing and stance phases of gait, exhibiting difficulty with swing limb clearance and stance limb stability. The advanced ground reaction design of AFO (A-GRAFO) was chosen as the most appropriate device for orthotic management. The specific orthotic design used in this study was a Dynamic Bracing Solutions Balancer™. Advanced triplanar control of the limb was achieved through the use of a unique segmented weight-bearing impression technique, specific cast modifications, specific alignment parameters, intimate fit, and rigid materials. Gait speed, gait endurance, and balance were assessed for each subject using the 10-m walk test, 6-minute walk test, and Timed Up and Go Test (TUG) before and after receiving the A-GRAFO. All subjects improved in gait speed and gait endurance, whereas four of the five improved in balance. Gait speed increased an average of 0.30 m/second (55%), 6-minute walk distance increased an average of 96 m (52%), and time to complete the TUG decreased by 5 seconds (24%) for subjects using the A-GRAFO compared with the no-orthosis condition. The results of this case series suggest that this orthosis design should be considered for patients with residual hemiparesis after stroke. Further research is warranted to compare the A-GRAFO against more traditional designs.