ABSTRACT
Background: Anterior Support Ankle Foot Orthosis (A-AFO) is a fairly recent approach. There is dearth of studies relating to comparison of metabolic efficiency of A-AFO and P-AFO. Objective was to study the efficacy of A-AFO compared to P-AFO in foot drop patients, using gait and metabolic analysis.Methods: It was a cross over study, included foot drop patients who could walk with/ without orthosis. Patients having spasticity more than grade 2 (Modified Ashworth Scale) were excluded. The metabolic parameters measured were volume of Oxygen consumed at Standard Temperature and Pressure in l/min (VO2), Dry in l/min, Rate of Oxygen consumption (MET), Volume of Carbon dioxide produced in litre/min (VCO2). Along with various gait parameters, questionnaire about patient’s preference after 4 weeks was also incorporated.Results: A-AFO was significantly better than P-AFO in terms of VO2 and VCO2 (p value = 0.02 and 0.009 respectively) as well as in terms of subjective preference.Conclusions: A-AFO is comparable to P-AFO in terms of energy efficiency, gait parameters and subjective preference, hence should also be prescribed.
ABSTRACT
Postural instability is a commonly encountered problem in elderly population. In a large number of persons this can be attributed to the physiological changes associated with aging. To investigate the changes in postural stability with aging this study was conducted in 64 healthy volunteers aged eight to seventy years using dynamic posturography. Three tests, namely sensory organization test, limits of stability and rhythmic weight shift which included a total of ten parameters were done. Of these, equilibrium score, strategy score, reaction time, movement velocity and on axis velocity showed statistically significant deterioration with progression of age. Disturbances in postural stability were detected from the fourth decade onwards in the population studied. This instability was not related to any disease process and possibly reflects the process of aging. Adequate precautionary measures should be taken by elderly persons to avoid the possible adverse consequences of postural instability.