Development of an ankle-foot orthosis to improve push-off movement—Effects of an advanced footplate on gait in adults after stroke—

Abstract

Gait solution ankle-foot orthosis (GS AFO) could assist the heel rocker function; however, incomplete push off remains a major problem. The purpose of this preliminary study was to assess the effects of GS AFO, namely an advanced footplate, on push-off in individuals affected by stroke. Three gait tasks performed by the 3 subjects while walking using the newly produced GS AFO or the conventional GS AFO with and without the forepart of the footplate were recorded and examined. Compared with other GS AFOs, use of the newly developed GS AFO increased the plantarflexion resistance moment during the pre-swing phase in all subjects. Moreover, the highest gastrocnemius muscle activity during stance phase was observed by using the newly developed GS AFO. These findings demonstrate that the newly developed GS AFO may help to improve push-off movement.