Long-Term Effects of a Dynamic Ankle Foot Orthosis on a Patient with Cerebral Palsy Following Ischaemic Perinatal Stroke – a Case Study
- Authors: Daniel Sabbagh1, Jörg Fior2, Ralf Gentz2
- Institutionen: 1FIOR & GENTZ GmbH – Scientific Editing, 2FIOR & GENTZ GmbH – Management
- Form of Contribution: poster
- Congress: 25th Annual Meeting of the ESMAC
- Location: Sevilla, Spain
- Date: 28 September – 1 October 2016
- Expert Association: European Society of Movement Analysis in Adults and Children (ESMAC)
Summary: Paediatric stroke is a well-known cause for cerebral palsy (CP) among newborns. These children develop neurological malfunctions that lead to gait disorders. In these cases, ankle-foot orthoses (AFOs) are important aids for continually improving the gait. At a patient suffering from CP after a paediatric stroke, the short-term and long-term effects of a dynamic, adjustable AFO were examined by means of a video-supported gait analysis. On the day of the delivery as well as during the check-up after three months, it was obvious that an improvement of the chosen time-distance parameters and angles of upper ankle joint, knee and hip was achieved by wearing the AFO. Even when not wearing the AFO, an improvement of the pathological gait could be observed. These observations over a longer period confirm that an adaptation process takes place due to the dynamic properties of the AFO.
Keywords: cerebral palsy, neurological gait disorders, ankle-foot orthoses (AFO), joint angles, time-distance parameters