Dr. Marc Feder, DPM, talks about the new Blaze MI AFO for post tib (Posterior Tibial Tendonitis or PTD). The Blaze MI ankle brace is a custom ankle foot orthosis that helps people with medial ankle instability. It is an articulated design that works well for those with early stage PTTD.
See http://www.insightful-products for more info.
In this video blog, we discuss the importance of casting the post tib patient’s foot and ankle in a neutral position. If the cast is taken in a full weight bearing position, it can be difficult to provide the needed correction to the AFO or custom ankle brace for posterior tibial tendonitis.
In this week’s vblog, we take you to an indoor tennis facility where one of our drop foot patients happily wears, what she calls, the best drop foot brace on the market. With the Step-Smart brace for drop foot, she is able to play tennis and live an active life. See her play tennis in this video.
In this “Foot of the Week” episode, we talk about the evolution of the medial malleolar window in our custom brace design for post tib or posterior tibial tendonitis (PTTD or PTD). The Blaze MI brace includes a relief for the medial malleolus called a window, and since its orgination, the shapes have changed. Now the brace even includes a relief or window for the navicular or any other prominent bone of the foot. This provide the required support while also providing the needed space and “give” when pressures and pain are high.
http://www.insightful-products.com/buy-afo.html
In this week’s vblog, we speak to a drop foot patient who uses the Step-Smart brace to go hiking.
In this week’s video blog, we have a guest appearance by Diana Bean, granddaughter of LL Bean, who happens to wear Insightful’s Blaze MI brace for post tib (posterior tibial tendonitis). She had some pain in her toe caused by a condition called hammertoes. This condition is not addressed by the Blaze brace, but provided us an opportunity to show how shoes often need adjustment in order to relieve pain and discomfort. In this particular situation, the shoe needed to be marked in the area creating the pressure so that the orthotist could remove some material from the shoe thereby creating more space for the problematic toe. Often times when pressure or irritation is a problem, people incorrectly think that adding padding is the answer. The solution is actually the reverse of what most people might think. Rather than adding more padding or cushioning to the area of the foot and ankle, the answer is to remove material from the shoe or ankle brace, creating the required space. This is called a “relief” for the prominent area of the foot and ankle. This is a practice commonly used in AFO’s or ankle foot orthoses but also is commonly needed in shoe fitting.
In this week’s episode, we visit a local foot and ankle doctor to help fit a bilateral pair of AFO’s or ankle braces. This particular case involves a patient with foot drop or drop foot in one leg and lateral ankle instability in the other. The solution for the inversion problem was the Cuboid Lock design used for the lateral ankle problem and the Step-Smart for the Foot drop problem. The Step-Smart also provides lateral support to control inversion and will help prevent the ankle from rolling over.
In this week’s video blog, we compare the differences between braces designed for toe off and braces designed for drop foot. Braces designed for toe off are supposed to help in gait with plantarflexion, not dorsiflexion. Braces designed for drop foot or foot drop are supposed to help in gait with dorsiflexion, or lifting the foot up and not pushing off with weak toes. Some of these toe off brace designs do give clearance at swing phase, allowing the toes to clear the ground while swinging the leg forward, but most do not help with shock absorption at heel strike. A key component to any good drop foot brace is the ability to slow the foot down at heel strike thereby preventing foot slap while also not restricting plantarflexion too much. The reality is that most of these toe off designs are not strong enough to assist in toe off. As seen in this video, the brace bends almost beyond its limit at about 15 lbs and most people weigh between 120 and 200 lbs. Even though the toe off is made of carbon fiber or mostly carbon fiber, the designs we have looked at can not handle weight over 100lbs and therefore the toe off benefit claimed is worthless in our opinion.
In this video testimonial, you hear from a drop foot patient who has tried many AFO’s and drop foot braces over the years and finally found the Step-Smart brace. He talks about his experience with Foot Drop and how it had reduced his quality of life. He is an avid motorcyclist and was not able to change gears so could no longer ride his bike until he found the Step-Smart. With the Step-Smart AFO he is able to do the things he wasnt able to do before, including drive his motorcycle.
http://www.insightful-products.com/buy-afo.html
In this video episode of “Foot of the Week”, we talk to a drop foot patient who has been using the dorsi-strap or x-strap (similar to the freedom walk, Foot up, or steady strider). We compare this drop foot treatment to the Step-Smart brace and demonstrate how the Step-Smart provides superior shock absorption at heel strike and also provides lateral support for better drop foot gait. Foot drop often causes falls resulting from an ankle rollover. Our drop foot gait analysis shows that without the ability to dorsiflex, the ankle is more susceptible to lateral instability. The lateral side of the foot or the outside of the foot can catch on an edge and rollover. Also, if the dropped foot lands on uneven ground, a rollover is difficult to prevent without ankle support. The drop foot patient also provides a testimonial in his owns words describing his experience and fear of falling. The Step-Smart is the best drop foot brace and dropfoot braces on the market.
AFO Blog 