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Bracing
- AFOs - Time limit on wearing?
Question from Robert Houpt, IN, U.S.A. who is concerned after reading
that AFOs should not be worn for more than eight hours at a time.
Dr. Robert Sampson, who has CMT, answers: I am not aware of an eight-hour
limit on orthotics. I wear mine 16 hours a day and would be lost without
them for the second eight hours.
Possibly he misinterpreted what was said. For instance, early on one needs
to get used to orthotics and we often advise limited use, with a progression
to wearing them, as tolerated, for a full day. Another possible explanation,
some people who need braces will get weaker when they wear them and so I
try to minimize the time in the brace, if that is possible. One good way
to really get atrophy of a weak muscle is brace it. Other than these two
ideas I am not sure why he was told that there was an eight hour limit.
Bracing - Children and leg braces
Q: My son, Nathan got his leg braces, (AFOs) last week. However,
they are still in the bag in the closet. He is very upset about wearing
these. He doesn't want anyone at all to see them. I would appreciate any
advice you can give me.
Linda answers: Let him play with them and get used to them. Ask
him to wear them for you on his school holidays just for a little while,
under his jeans and with socks under them and over them so they don't
show in his shoes. Many people find that the AFOs make the shoes too small.
He may be able to walk better and longer in them. Tell him we have doctors,
lawyers, an FBI agent, teachers, nurses, people who ride horseback and
people who waterski in their braces who wear their braces every day. You
might even put neat stickers or transfers on them or paint them a color
for him with some kind of acrylic paint or put his name on them or something
he really likes.
Dr. Charlotte Thompson answers: The patient should be able to wear
the AFOs under his trousers. I agree that having him wear them around
the house at first would be good and then just say that this is what the
doctor has prescribed so the AFOs need to be worn. It's okay to want to
give a child control in some things but if they are really needed then
they should be used. It's important to be sure that they are comfortable.
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