kafo's

[sci-co-pilot]

Hi Im a t11 para. an have been walking on the parell bars at phiysio with my kafo. I would like to talk to others who are doing the same. I just want to learn from others peoples trial and errors. And make sure im doing the right things. http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/tongue.gifwcr2001@telusplanet.net

[~Patrick~]

Hi Brian, I am t-10,11,12 sorta incomplete. I have been standing in a frame an will be getting my braces any day now. I had to get the ones that belt at the waist. Are you actualy walking left, right, left or are you tripod walking?

...act like a survivor not a victim.

[sci-co-pilot]

Hi Pat,
I sort of put the weight on one side and swing the other forward. The legs seem to swing forward if i try and help them physically. http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[SCI-Nurse]

Moving this to the Care forum which is a more appropriate location rather than Feedback...

(KLD)

[dogger]

i never used braces , but in hindsight one thing i now realise is how important it is to get and keep your gait as correct as possible . i have been walking unassisted now for over 11 years but in that time i have allowed one knee to over extend while walking and now find this has got to be such a bad habit it is proving very hard to correct . in my opinion if i continue this bad gait i will end up back in a wheelchair .. keep up the hard work blokes , it is worth it .
thank you
dogger .

[Karen'sMom]

Hi Bryan,

My daughter is a T12 incomplete, almost 15 months post injury. She is walking with the help of two canes and is on her 3rd set of braces. She started out with AFO's molded to fit her foot and leg, up to her knees. She is now on just tiny little braces that she has to poke (holes) through her shoes to keep on.

Her gait was very awkward for the first six months or so after she got out of rehab, but is steadily improving. I will read you what someone wrote about her 4 months post injury. "She supports herself by two canes and leg braces so cumbersome she must wear men's size nine Doc Martens to accommodate them. She moves with a jerky gait, each leg in turn splaying out from her hips, and in a circular motion slapping down in front of her, to be steadied by the corresponding cane." It doesn't sound all that good but it is great just to be walking at all.

She is still an outpatient in Rehab, improving her gait. It has improved enormously so don't get discouraged with your own progress.

In fact she has a great desire to try to run again. This is what she wrote for an update "The physio's tie up my feet in such a way that my toes don't drop, and then we get two physio's to hold my hands while I'm on the treadmill. We crank up the speed until I have to run and away I go!! To be honest, it's the funniest thing. I look like a duck that's running after a person who got too close to her babies; wings out stretched, head and neck sticking out, and a waddling gait with my tail wiggling! Not quite what I was hoping for but it's a start. I've come to realize that in all our seriousness, we forget to see the humour in life, and had it not been for a sense of humour, my past year would have been very dismal."

When she was first learning to walk, they wouldn't let her use the parallel bars. Instead, they held her on each side with her arms up (like a baby), and one in front moving her feet, one behind holding her hips up. She then graduated to Shepherd canes............those really high ones that a Shepherd would use. It worked for her anyway.

I wish you good luck in your walking. It is a tremendous effort, but well worthwhile in the end, hopefully.

Darlene

[sci-co-pilot]

Thanks Darlene,
Sounds like your daughter is in the postion as my friend who was in the accident with me in Feb 02. He is also a t12 incomplete. He's walking with afo also. He was using using 2 gutter cruches. but can now walks with a cane. He's been a great insparation.
Thanks Bryan

[SCI PILOT]

Karen's mom could you email me a picture of the braces that she uses after the AFO's were done. I would like to see what others have.

I think once you have hip flexors and aductors people should be able to ambulate with KAFO's then work at reducing the amount of bracing over time. Does your daughter have planter and dorsi flexion.

As far as KAFO's do most users do a swing through gait or a hip swing left right?

[Karen'sMom]

Hi SciPilot & Bryan,

I see you were both in the same aircraft accident. This is the first time I've noticed two people from the same accident. I assume you were in Rehab together. Not that it makes it any easier.

Karen is flying home tomorrow night for two weeks and I never know what braces or equipment she will be bringing with her..........it changes all the time. I don't think I have a complete picture of her first braces, but I'll check.

I'll try to get her to post here while she's home, and answer your other questions. I do know that her gait has improved tremendously since she first started to walk.

Good Luck. PS - I could not find your email address in your profile Scipilot. You can email it to me if you want. Mine should be in my profile. Thanks.

Darlene

[SCI-Nurse]

One caution about reducing your bracing: The stresses of walking can be communicated up into the lower back. If you use less bracing than you need, you could be setting yourself up for whopping back aches. I personally find it hard to muster much compassion for back aches in people who against their therapist's advice reduce their bracing and trash their backs.

So by all means try reducing your bracing within the recommendations of your physical therapist. Remember they have good reasons for recommending the equipment they recommend.

(RAB)

[Karen'sMom]

Hi this is Karen, the daughter of "Karen's Mom".

You asked what other braces I used after my AFO's. After using my AFO's for 6 months my physiotherapist wanted to reduce the support I was receiving so we tried a pair of semi rigid ankle braces. They have soft foam lining with a hard plastic backing and went up each side of my ankle to mid calf. They were connected on the bottom by a thin piece of clothe that went under my heel. The two foam pieces went up the inside and outside of my leg and were secured by two pieces of velcro strapping around my leg. I think they were made for an athletic injury/ ankle injury but with my 100% drop foot on my left side and my 50% drop foot on my right side, I found this type of brace offered enough support while forcing me to work harder for my own balance. I used these for about 6-8 weeks only.

I then moved onto a third type of brace that is a simple elastic ankle support brace. I'm sure it's purposed use is again for someone with an ankle injury, but again it offers me enough support while forcing my body to further develop on it's own. And my latest discovery, since I can ride horses and one day tried on my full length riding boots, is that with a full legth boot that offers the rigidity of an ankle support, I can walk just as well as with a brace!

With every change of bracing my feet and ankles, and knees and hamstrings have had to recondition. I went through pain, sometimes with a new brace I could only wear it for 1 hour before my arches of my feet were in pain! Then my hamstrings that support around my knees would go through a very painful stage, but throughout my year of brace changes my feet, ankles and body in general have improved 100%! I believe that without enduring pain, at least long enough to learn the difference between a recovering pain stage and a worsening pain, that one won't progress in one's recovery. I fully support reducing bracing but it should be moderate with ample time between to allow your feet and other body parts to recondition before you take the next step. And no, I have never had any back pain as a result of reducing my bracing, in fact if you don't ever call into use your other body parts then how will you ever get them stronger again?!( I realize it wasn't you who said this but I wanted to assure others that in my case I have had nothing but positive results from aspiring towards
less bracing!)

I don't have pictures for you but I think if you were to go to even a sports medicine doctor who knows about various braces for ankle support you'd be surprised what is all out there! And keep in mind the long boot option, it's my latest discovery and allows me to feel the most normal yet with my foot wear, plus it's quite stylish!!

Good luck, I hope some of my experiences can help you!
PS I hane good plantar flexion, just the drop foot problems that I mentioned above.

Karen

[SCI PILOT]

Sounds like your off to the races with your new boots! I have 0 planter on the left and less than a grade one on the right so I still need the braces to supprt my falling forward.

I am doing a FES test and then a needle EMG on friday to determin if there is any firing in the gastrox or anterier tibs. If so its back to the rehab to strengthen what I got.

I believe that my constant exercise (8 times per week) is really helping the program along.

Jim