Ankle-foot orthosis improves gait function of children with cerebral palsy / 中国组织工程研究

ABSTRACT

Cerebral palsy greatly affects walking function of the child patients, showing low-effective walking gait. Orthosis is used to change function features or structures of nerve, muscle and skeletal system. Ankle-foot orthosis is commonly used, which could provide appropriate movement control on sagittal, coronal and horizontal planes, maintain joint line of force arrangement, promote functions and improve gait. However, ankle-foot orthosis exhibits some limitations, such as limited range of joint motion, limited muscle function, and infection due to local skin compression. Therefore, clinical doctors and researches are looking for improvements over the past years, for example, to supplement some treatment or protective function based on current orthosis, so as to obtain better clinical outcomes. Appropriate and individualized orthosis is development direction of orthosis creation and design.