Orthosis
An orthosis is an exoskeletal device that is attached to flail or weakened limbs to augment strength deficiency. Orthoses are mechanical devices which impose forces upon a limb of a patient and can be used for a variety of different purposes. Orthoses may be provided for supportive, functional, corrective or protective purposes, or for a combination of these. Ankle-foot orthoses are typically provided to provide protection to the ankle and foot of a patient as well as to provide support against excessive plantarflexion or dropping of the foot. In addition to this resistive function, they may also be employed to assist dorsiflexion of the patient's foot during the push off phase of the patient's gait. An orthosis is applied to a segment of a human body for the purpose of assisting in the restoration or improvement of its function. Orthoses can provide assistance in walking to persons having any of several types of walking disability. Typical reasons for wearing such an orthosis include stroke, brain injuries, spinal cord injury and post-polio treatment. Foot orthotics are often used to compensate for impaired foot function by controlling abnormal motion across the joints of the foot. Specific impairments that a foot orthotic may assist include mild "foot drop" due to neurological conditions, orthopedic gait abnormality, clubfoot, mid-tarsal fracture, partial foot amputation, arthritis, hallux valgus, hallux rigidus, turf toe, and plantar fasciitis. Foot orthotics may also be prescribed to reduce pain, to provide support, to prevent foot deformity or prevent the worsening thereof, to relieve pressure on a certain area of the foot, and to improve the overall biomechanical function of the foot and lower extremity limbs. A person who is not able to move his leg in a functional manner to ambulate, must wear a knee/ankle/foot orthosis to stabilize his leg and allow for ambulation. It has been found that for people with weak knee joints, a locking mechanism is necessary in order to lock a calf supporting orthosis to prevent movement in relation to a thigh supporting orthosis, thereby allowing the person to walk, albeit stiff legged. One known type of orthosis is a knee/ankle/foot orthosis which controls the motion and alignment of a knee and an ankle when a person attempts to walk. Such orthoses can be made of molded plastic materials or of metal and leather parts. Various knee and ankle joints can be added to achieve the desired function. Ankle foot orthoses are commonly used as foot, ankle, and leg braces for improving movement. A modern ankle foot orthosis is usually fabricated from thermoplastics. The thermoplastic is heat molded over a positive mold similar in shape to the patient's limb, then cooled, and trimmed. Often the thermoplastic is formed into rigid laminates of non-resilient material. Ankle joint motion in the orthotic device is often provided by a mechanical hinge type joint at the ankle joint. Once again, these devices may pose a hazard to the user and others, especially when used in contact sports. An ankle-foot orthosis is a medical device used to support and align the ankle and foot by suppressing spastic and overpowering ankle and foot muscles, assisting weak and paralyzed muscles of the ankle and foot, and preventing or correcting ankle and foot deformities. An ankle-foot orthosis is particularly useful in assisting the functions of the ankle and foot when a person has a gait condition commonly known as "drop foot." Drop foot is a neuro-muscular condition resulting in the inability of a person to sufficiently lift one of their feet during a walking stride. Drop foot may result from a cerebrovascular accident, spinal cord injury, hereditary and sensory neuropathies, neuromuscular disease or any damage to the muscle and nerves required to activate the muscle of the neuromuscular system related to the foot. A common method of alleviating pain and promoting healing after an injury or spinal surgery is to provide stabilization of the patient's trunk and provide support for the involved spinal structural tissues. This is accomplished using a back brace or spinal orthosis. The terms brace and orthosis are used interchangeably herein. There are a variety of spinal orthosis presently available, each possessing features which achieve varying degrees of support functions regarding the spine or related soft tissues. There are a variety of spinal orthosis presently available, each possessing features which achieve varying degrees of support functions regarding the spine or related soft tissues. Of those which are generally accepted as the most useful, each have one or more features related to comfort to the wearer, the ease of use, and cost which also vary in degree. In most instances, one or more of these features are compromised to enhance other features.
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