The effect of wedge height on the gait of normal subjects wearing a swift cast

Regaining functional walking is one of the central rehabilitation goals for stroke patients. Ankle foot orthoses (AFOs) are regularly prescribed to help achieve this goal for stroke patients who have suffered from strokes or other neurological disorders with lower limb disabilities. When customising AFOs evidence suggests that tuning the orthosis to optimise the biomechanics of gait will improve the patient's overall gait pattern and rehabilitation. This tuning does not always occur and importantly, not always correctly, when prescribing an AFO. This study designed a prototype active wedge device that would adjust the heel angle of a participant. The aim was to create a device that could be adjusted remotely and was simple to use so that in future it might advance clinical practice. The active wedge device was created and tested on ten healthy participants to evaluate the device's ability to tune an AFO and hence alter the kinematics and kinetics of gait. Participants were asked to wear a soft scotch ankle foot cast to mirror the effect of an AFO. Four wedge angles were chosen for evaluation however the device had the capability to move between the angles 0° to 23°. Motion analysis data suggested that the prototype successfully altered the gait kinematics and kinetics, specifically during mid-stance which is an important phase when clinically optimising the biomechanics. Future improvements are suggested as the active wedge device demonstrated great potential to improve to clinical practice.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

msc

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

masters-pg

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Strathclyde

Year dc:date.issued

2014

Author dc:creator

• Austin, Megan

DOI

10.48730/nh2h-rr37

Identifier

T13913

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:strathclyde:9s161620q