An Orthotist is a health care
professional registered with the Health Professions Council, who
will assess for, design, and supply orthoses to people who have
musculo- skeletal problems (problems with muscles or joints). An
orthosis is an externally applied device that influences the
function of muscles and joints. It can be designed for example
to substitute for a weakened muscle or to reduce pain in an
arthritic knee. They can also be used to realign the lower limb
to have an influence on many lower limb conditions. This can
often be achieved by using foot orthoses that will fit within
normal footwear and can also be worn by many professional sports
people to reduce injuries and sometimes to increase performance
Footwear
The range of footwear sizes
that can be purchased on the high street has improved
considerably in the last few years. However some people still
have problems with shoe fit. I can provide footwear that is
specifically made to accommodate individual complex needs.
Industrial footwear
Many people have to wear
Industrial footwear but find it difficult to obtain shoes that
are comfortable. I can provide advice on finding suitable
footwear but if this cannot be achieved I can order made to
measure industrial footwear that would be fitted to the
individual’s foot shape.
Ankle Foot Orthoses
People who have difficulty
controlling their ankle when walking can have problems with
catching their toes and instability. These problems can be
helped by an ankle foot orthosis. They can be produced from a
variety of materials from carbon fibre shown
below to silicon
that can be made to look similar to skin tone.
Knee Orthoses
Knee orthoses can be useful
to compensate for lack of knee stability. They can also be
effective at reducing pain in the knees including those affected
by osteoarthritis. They can be produced with specific features
to be worn in a variety of conditions eg they can be adapted to
go over ski boots.
Knee Ankle Foot Orthoses
Knee ankle foot orthoses can be used to provide
support when people have a complex knee and ankle problem. For
example people with post polio limbs or severe osteoarthritis
can benefit greatly from this type of device. They have moved on
considerably in the last few years e.g. some devices control
knee movement electronically or through weight activation.
Pressure Measurement
Plantar pressure measurement can be a useful aid
to identify problems occurring when patient’s walk and run. It
doesn’t give as much information as a full gait analysis but has
the advantage of being able to collect information about many
steps one after the other. This gives more information to
improve the clinician’s understanding of the potential causes of
the lower limb problem
