Urgent: durable dorsi assist ankle joints needed
Carol Matsui
Description
Collection
Title:
Urgent: durable dorsi assist ankle joints needed
Creator:
Carol Matsui
Date:
11/15/2000
Text:
I have a 53 year old client with a diagnosis of Guillain Barre Syndrome, who
wears bilateral hinged dorsi assist AFOs. He is very active, walks a lot and
depends on his AFOs for all activities. He is currently wearing AFOs with
large size Tamarack 742-L-85 dorsi assist ankle joints, as well as Gaffney
GHK-2000 flexor dorsi assists. The plantarflexion stop allows about 10
degrees of plantarflexion on the right side for driving. The problem is that
the Tamaracks last only a couple of weeks, at which point they lose enough
of their lift that his toe starts scuffing again, and he gets slapping,
which he does not like. The Gaffney flexor dorsi assists prolong the life of
the Tamaracks a bit, but I am constantly replacing them anyway. Due to his
weakness, he cannot tolerate anything heavy, which precludes the use of
steel joints. I have tried aluminum Klenzak type joints, and he blows the
ball bearings out the bottoms of the joints in a short period of time.
What I think would be ideal would be an extra heavy duty Tamarack joint with
mega dorsi assist, however I don't think such a thing exists. I would be
grateful for any input from people who have braced similar clients with
success. Thanks in advance.
Naomi C. Matsui, CO(c)
<Email Address Redacted>
wears bilateral hinged dorsi assist AFOs. He is very active, walks a lot and
depends on his AFOs for all activities. He is currently wearing AFOs with
large size Tamarack 742-L-85 dorsi assist ankle joints, as well as Gaffney
GHK-2000 flexor dorsi assists. The plantarflexion stop allows about 10
degrees of plantarflexion on the right side for driving. The problem is that
the Tamaracks last only a couple of weeks, at which point they lose enough
of their lift that his toe starts scuffing again, and he gets slapping,
which he does not like. The Gaffney flexor dorsi assists prolong the life of
the Tamaracks a bit, but I am constantly replacing them anyway. Due to his
weakness, he cannot tolerate anything heavy, which precludes the use of
steel joints. I have tried aluminum Klenzak type joints, and he blows the
ball bearings out the bottoms of the joints in a short period of time.
What I think would be ideal would be an extra heavy duty Tamarack joint with
mega dorsi assist, however I don't think such a thing exists. I would be
grateful for any input from people who have braced similar clients with
success. Thanks in advance.
Naomi C. Matsui, CO(c)
<Email Address Redacted>
Citation
Carol Matsui, “Urgent: durable dorsi assist ankle joints needed,” Digital Resource Foundation for Orthotics and Prosthetics, accessed November 6, 2024, https://library.drfop.org/items/show/215372.
