Frequently Asked Questions.

Your Orthotist.

  • Certified Orthotist/prosthetists [c-PO] are tertiary qualified Allied Health Professionals who assess and treat the physical and functional limitations of people resulting from illnesses and disabilities, Orthotist/prosthetists are trained to prescribe, design, fit and monitor orthoses and prostheses. A certified Othotist/prosthetist is a member of the Australian Orthotic Prosthetic Association (AOPA).

  • The orthotist/prosthetist’s role is to assess, prescribe, design, fit, monitor, provide therapy and educate regarding the use and care of an appropriate orthosis/prosthesis that serves an individual’s requirements.

    Orthotist/prosthetists treat a wide variety of clients such as children born with congenital limb deficiency or cerebral palsy, people who have had an amputation following an accident, patients with muscular weakness after a stroke or spinal injury, patients with diabetic foot ulcers or the elderly who have lost a limb as a result of vascular disease.

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Your Orthosis.

  • The amount of time that an AFO needs to be worn will vary between people and will be determined in consultation with your physiotherapist and doctor.

  • AFOs need to be worn over long socks or tights that are:

    Long enough to extend past the top of the AFO

    Not too thick and don’t have a raised pattern that may mark the skin

    Made of a natural fibre (cotton or wool) to help air circulation around the leg.

    You can purchase AFO socks direct from Nova or through our supplier:

    Massons

  • Your AFO should always be worn over a socks or tights.

    When putting the AFO on you need to make sure that the heel is right down in the base of the AFO. Once in the correct position you need to do the ankle strap up firmly to make sure that the heel does not lift.

    You then do up the calf strap and put on shoes.

  • The AFO gives lots of stability to the foot and ankle. Shoes are really only required to make the AFO nonslip in most circumstances. Shoes that have a good, rounded forefoot and an opening that extends to the forefoot are usually the easiest to get on.

    Most shoes have an innersole that can be removed to make more room for the AFO. This is sometimes glued in and requires a decent tug to get out. If the AFOs are used for walking it is sometimes best to use shoes that have a slight heel rather than a completely flat sole. Your orthotist will discuss this if it is important for you.

    ‘AFO shoes’ that have extra depth and durable soles are available from Nova Orthotics if you are finding shoes difficult to source.

  • AFO Download Foot Orthoses Download

    AFOs sit against the skin and care needs to be taken that they don’t cause any pressure areas.

    New wearers should wear the AFO for 1 hr initially. After this time you should take the AFO off and carefully check the skin for any pressure areas or red marks left by the AFO.

    You should increase how long the AFO is worn by 1 hour each time and check the skin afterwards.

    Children should not wear new AFOs to school until they been worn at home for 6 hours without any issues.

    Any red areas or marks should disappear within 20minutes like a sock mark would. If the marks stay longer than this, then you need to contact us to organise a review to fix the problem.

  • As your child grows that AFO will need to be replaced. Indications that the AFO needs replacing include: the toes getting longer than the footplate and pressure areas developing around the ankle and foot (a sign that the AFO is too tight). Our friendly admin team will be happy to assist you in booking in for your next set of orthoses.

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