22 Sep 😬Does your child with Special Needs refuse to wear their AFOs?

An AFO, Ankle Foot Orthosis, is a type of orthotic device that is used to support and stabilize the ankle and foot. It is often prescribed for 👧children with Cerebral Palsy and neurological conditions that result in a foot drop. An AFO will keep a child’s ankle at 90 degrees so that their foot is not dragging and causing them to trip and fall. For children who use a wheelchair, 👨‍🦼AFOs allows the child’s feet to remain flat on the wheelchair foot plates.

While AFOs can provide benefits for children with cerebral palsy, there are also some disadvantages associated with their use. Here are 3 main disadvantages with using AFOs:

🥴1. AFOs are designed to limit or control the movement of the ankle joint. While this is often necessary to improve stability and prevent deformities, it can lead to a reduction in the natural range of motion. Over time, this limitation can affect the child’s joint flexibility. It also limits a child’s ability to transition from sitting to crawling to pulling to stand to walk with a natural heel strike-foot flat-toe off walking pattern.

🥴2. Prolonged use of AFOs, especially if they are overly restrictive, can contribute to muscle weakness and atrophy. This occurs because the muscles are not being actively used to support the body during walking. Physiotherapy is essential to counteract this potential disadvantage.

🥴3. Some children may feel self-conscious or different when wearing AFOs, which can have social and psychological impacts. Especially older children and teenagers who are more conscious of their appearance.

Here at My Favourite Physio, our Expert Paediatric Physiotherapists🤓 seldom advocate the use of AFOs, instead we offer a variety of different orthotics like UCBLs, SMOs and Dictus Bands to help prevent foot drop.

So if your child is resisting the use of their AFOs, reach out to My Favourite Physio on 📱(02) 9790 4233 or DM us @myfavouritephysio to speak to one of our Expert Paediatric Physiotherapists today!

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