Overview of Orthoses and Alternatives to Improve Gait in Children

Course overview

This course discusses types of orthoses, their componentry, and modifications that can be used to improve a child's gait. Alternatives to custom orthoses will also be discussed. Methods of adapting insoles and using Aquaplast and plaster casting to enable use of orthosis laboratories will be demonstrated. The therapist will be challenged to identify the problems to be addressed, the immediacy of need for remediation, the time period for orthosis use, and the environments where the orthosis is needed before deciding what type of orthosis and footwear to recommend. The need to do an orthotic checkout and modify the orthosis or footwear to optimize goal attainment will be highlighted. The fact that children will not wear the same orthosis all day in all settings and the concept of optimizing various footwear options for patients will be discussed.