Kids Orthopedic Braces (AFOs) | OrthoPro of Twin Falls

Michael Johnson of OrthoPro demonstrates how orthopedic braces are created for children.

The OrthoPro team has the skills to determine which type of brace is best for individual pediatric patients, no matter what the diagnosis. Once the specialized brace type is selected, the team initiates a safe casting process for the child's foot or ankle. The cast is then examined to assure the alignment is optimal for the patient's fit and function. Any necessary adjustments are made before the cast is then vaccum-formed with plastic and the final brace trimmed and equipped with straps. This process allows constant re-adjustment to produce a brace unrivaled for quality and comfort.

To learn more about how we can help you or a love one who has experienced limb loss, call us at 208-733-0505 or visit our website at www.orthoprotwinfalls.com!

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Today we're going to talk about braces. Not orthodontic but orthopedic. Hi. I'm Michael from Orthopro. We're going to talk about pediatric bracing. And a lot of parents don't know quite what to do when their doctor says their child needs braces. We have quite a
selection and a very good team to be able to tell what type of bracing would be best to
approach the difficulties that children encounter when they're trying to ambulate. Let's start with types of braces. And they are sometimes diagnosis-specific. For example, if your child has Hypotonia or they're having difficulty getting their feet up underneath them, the type of brace that helps would be a Supramalar Orthosis or SMO. And what it does is it basically creates an environment for the feet to be in position to help your child ambulate...

From there we go up the leg a little bit higher in an AFO; which is an Ankle Foot Orthosis. And it comes down the back of the calf and under the foot. We have a system of casting the patients and helping to get the proper fit which is a custom AFO... Or may help stretch them out if they, for example, have tight heel cords. Various diagnoses such as Down Syndrome or Cerebral Palsy and others can be treated in this manner with a custom AFO... During the casting process the children are seated and appropriate socks are put on. We want to be safe so there's a safety cutting strip that's put in place and then the leg is wrapped with a flexible urethane casting tape. Once that tape is set, it's cut off and removed from the leg and sometimes the kids don't even notice what's going on. They may be playing with their iPad or playing with Ben, one of our practitioners.

Once the cast is taken, we can take it off the patient and evaluate it, make sure it's got the right angles for us. We want to make sure that heel's in the proper position, that the toes are aligned properly. And this particular cast has a plate inside it so we know it landmarks exactly where the ball of the foot is, where the toes hang over the edge, etc. And make sure we have a good placement of that heel. Once the cast hardens, it's taken off the patient and stapled back together. Then we fill that with plaster, put a pipe in it, remove the casting material. Now we have a plaster model that can be modified to the specifics of that particular patient. After that the designs are placed into the plastic so they're actually part of the plastic under hot temperatures and then vacuum-formed over the model. That plastic is then removed off of the plaster model and becomes the brace once it's trimmed out and the straps are put on.

After that point, the patient comes in and the fitting is performed. And any minor modifications or trimming happens to make sure that we have an optimal fit and function of that brace, and your child receives the support that they need. If you've been told that your child requires braces, please give us a call or visit our website.
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OrthoPro Twin Falls, Ortho Pro, Twin Falls Idaho, Prosthetics, Limb Loss, Artificial Limb, Limb Repair, Amputee, Amputation, Prosthesis, Prosthetic Fitting, Limb Fit, Limb Adjustment, Limb Technician, Residual Limb, OrthoProsthesis, Prosthetic Arm, Prosthetic Leg, Limb Service, Patient Care, Prosthetic Adjustment, Artificial Limb Creation, Orthopedic Brace, Brace for Kids, Braces for Children, Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, Hypotonia, Supramalar Orthosis, Ankle Foot Orthosis