In the last post, I talked about what foot drop is and how it may affect you. If you haven’t see this post, go back and read it first. 

Today I am talking about some the different types of Ankle foot splints available on the market to manage foot drop 

1. Plastic AFO with posterior leg support  

2. ToeOff AFO with front leg support pad

3. Carbon Fibre foot splints   

4.  Custom made plastic full leg AFO

5. Custom made hinged full leg AFO

Off the shelf AFOs can have a back shell or front shell piece. For many clients, the posterior shell does not always work well if you are tall or if you have a muscular leg. In which case, the anterior shell AFO like the ToeOFF AFO and the Ossur Carbon Fibre AFO

Custom made plastic AFOs fully envelope the back of your leg and really work on controlling and correcting the alignment issues you may have if you have tightness in your calf and ankle or if you have increased tone in your leg. 

The custom made hinged AFOs also fully envelop the back of your leg, however the lower section of the splint has been cut and allows for some ankle movement upward as you walk and this tension is set and adjustable in the splint. This splint is usually prescribed when your ankle range of movement is increasing. 

The light weight plastic AFOs, the Toe off AFOs and the Carbon Fibre AFOs can be found and purchased online provided you know your sizing. The down side of this is that you can’t always try it before you buy it.  

One of the smallest customed hinged AFO is The Ritchie Brace that is just focussed around the ankle and lower shin area. Some of the other custom hinged AFOs can be full length to allow for more optimal support around the knee and ankle. 

The other down side that clients talk about is not being able to walk barefoot. Look out for the next few posts to know what you can use instead. 

I hope that you have found this information useful. These are just a few examples of the types of AFOs available. Please feel free to share this post with your friends or someone you know who will benefit from reading this post. 

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We hope that you have found this information useful. Please feel free to share this post with your friends or someone you know who will benefit from reading this post. 

Remember: It's your time now to take action towards your next mobility goal!