Article

Contractures of Achilles tendons and gastrocnemius muscle deteriorate
the performance in daily living activities of patients with neuromuscular
diseases. Ankle-foot orthoses help to prevent the progression of deformities and
to obtain optimal position of the joints to support standing and walking.
Objective: To investigate the relationship between orthotic usage and functional
activities in pediatric patients with different neuromuscular diseases. Study
design: Retrospective study. Methods: A total of 127 subjects' physical
assessment forms were analyzed. Functional level, type of orthoses, falling
frequencies, ankle joint range of motion, and timed performance tests were
examined in two consecutive dates with an interval of 3 months. Results: A total
of 91 patients were using orthoses while 36 patients were not within assessment
dates. A total of 64 of 91 (70.3%) patients were diagnosed with Duchenne muscular
dystrophy. A total of 81 (89.0%) subjects were using plastic ankle-foot orthoses
for positioning at nights and 10 (11%) were using different types of the orthoses
(knee-ankle-foot orthoses, dynamic ankle-foot orthoses, and so on) for gait in
the study group. Conclusions: Night ankle-foot orthoses were not found to be
effective directly on functional performance in children with neuromuscular
diseases, although they protect ankle from contractures and may help to correct
gait and balance. Clinical relevance This retrospective study shows that the
positive effects of using an ankle-foot orthosis at night are not reflected in
the functional performance of children with neuromuscular diseases. This may be
due to the progressive deteriorating nature of the disease.

Langue : ANGLAIS