[Untitled]

Patricia Hazard CO

7/2/2008

Original posting.

I fitted a post CVA patient in a Townsend Polio KO to control
hyperextension. It works great to improve his gait. He had a lot of
external torsion of lower leg in full weight bearing as well. The patient
is happy with the function as well but is very unhappy with hinge noise. I
sent it back to Townsend to tighten up the hinge but it is still very
audible. I am using the thermoplastic extension stops.

 Is there another hinge system that would be quieter or have some type of
 bumper system to dampen the sound. He needs a heavy duty free motion
 system.
Patricia Hazard CO
Charleston, SC

I was disappointed. Here were my only responses. Usually the manufacturer will come forth with a way to defend their product!
 
Just had the same thing happen to me with a polio patient. I tried using a Becker MCL stopper plug and bored out a hole in the white extension stops, then trimmed down the MCL plug so that it was the same width as the ext. stop. This helped with the noise due to the softer durometer of the mcl plug. Townsend also has a cover for the hinges that helped as well. [We will try this option and let you know if it works for us]

Try teflon tape on the stops. [We already tried tape. It helps but wears down too fast]

Try an old oil for hinged orthosis called braceease. It works well and is
not messy. Only a drop or two is all it takes. Good luck. [Could not find a source for this product.]