AFO Helps Athlete Keep a Competitive Edge

Erik Olson does not like to be idle. Personally, he’s a skilled athlete, outdoorsman, and an accomplished guitar player. Professionally, he’s worked in healthcare, law enforcement, and as a television and radio narrator and personality, which included nationwide radio shows in country and rock formats. He’s also a para-triathlete, and recently marked another professional milestone by being named a co-captain of Allard USA’s TeamUP, composed of elite athletes who live with mobility impairments. Olson’s competitive nature caught the eye of the team’s founder and co-captain, Beth Deloria, as she started following his success on the para-triathlete circuit. They met in 2017 when Olson reached out to Deloria and TeamUP after meeting another athlete at a race in Colorado. “It’s difficult enough to become a successful triathlete, but to become one with serious neuromuscular and mobility deficits is remarkable,” Deloria says. Hidden Disabilities Olson, who lives in Bridger, Montana, was born 55 years ago with a clubfoot and prune belly syndrome (PBS), a rare neuromuscular disease. The cause of PBS is unknown and there is no cure. According to the PBS website, the condition varies in degree, and is characterized by partial or complete absence of stomach and abdominal muscles causing myriad complications over time. PBS affects less than one in 40,000 people worldwide, and as many as 20 percent of those who have PBS also have clubfoot. The Ponseti Method was used to help correct Olson’s congenital clubfoot when he was a child. “Prune belly syndrome is another animal,” he says. “My parents were not at all informed about PBS or clubfoot. The PBS was not severe enough to really cause issues at birth, and very little was known about it, so it was unaddressed. I was basically told my clubfoot was cured, and I was missing stomach muscles.” Mid-pack Runner As a young adult, pain and structural issues began to be a problem for him, but Olson says he never let his disabilities define him. “Mostly I didn’t know any better,” he says. “Admittedly, I was not a great athlete when I was younger. I knew I was different physically, but I really didn’t understand a lot about it. I would say it was my ignorance that kept me going athletically.” Early in his life, Olson says he accepted that he was “a mid-pack runner, at best. I just figured it would always be that way. I never considered that I was physically challenged.” Olson began thinking about participating in para-athletic events when he started having pain while running. Often the pain was enough that it would sideline him for more than a week. “I would normally just keep working through it and sometimes it would go away,” he says. One day on a run, for the first time ever the pain became so severe he couldn’t finish. “I had to call my wife to come pick me up,” he says. Even though he knew para-athletes, he was hesitant to join them in competition because having to admit he had a disability was uncomfortable. Then he received this advice from a friend: “Dude, just do it.” Though the admission was painful, becoming a para-athlete opened doors he didn’t know existed. “I wished it would have happened earlier in my life,” he says. Olson knew if he wanted to keep a competitive edge as a professional athlete, however, the time had come to weigh other options. Considering Amputation One avenue Olson examined with his physician was amputating his right foot. “Amputation doesn’t scare me,” Olson says. His father-in-law has bilateral upper-limb loss, and his brother has paraplegia. Olson says he thought a transtibial amputation might offer him the best chance to continue as a para-triathlete. “A lower-leg amputation is the easiest to deal with,” he says. “The reason amputation became a possibility was that one ortho surgeon’s suggestion was to cut the heel, move it, create an artificial arch and fuse my ankle.” That scenario would have given him about a 50 percent chance of improving his situation with a recovery time that would span two years, he says. “Considering if that failed, and that I can rarely find someone with clubfoot who was happy to have had a similar surgery, amputation was the next step,” Olson says. “Those [with clubfoot] happy with amputations are numerous. My doc said someone like me would be running on a prosthetic in no time. A clubfoot never heals so I thought it sounded okay.” Carbon Electra Before giving the okay for amputation, Olson, married and a father of six, did exhaustive research for a better alternative. “I looked at braces, exoskeletal devices, wraps, and artificial limbs,” he says. As one last option, Olson decided to try an AFO, used successfully by other athletes with lower-limb deficits such as clubfoot and foot drop. “My doc basically said we could look at bracing or devices to help. He said if I wanted to try something, he would prescribe it,” Olson says. “No harm in trying, I thought. We looked at many things and thought an AFO might be worth a try—limiting flexion and all that.” One day in the orthotist’s office he tried an AFO, and says it was so comfortable he didn’t want to take it off. “It did what we were looking for based on our research,” he says. “I never felt so normal as in that leg. I felt like Superman. My doctor and I thought an AFO would help limit the flexion of the ankle and foot, preventing pain while still allowing a full rollover of my foot while running. Then we decided a stiffer model AFO was probably better as long as repetitive use and comfort was there.” Becky Piper, the TeamUP member Olson met while competing in the para division of the Colorado Triathlon several years ago, uses the Allard Blue-ROCKER AFO. “He asked about my brace because he was looking for something to help him have greater success in triathlons and daily life,” Piper says. Olson was eventually fitted with a BlueROCKER and now uses the Blue-ROCKER2½, which he named Carbon Electra. “I have carbon fiber bikes, and my brace is carbon fiber, so it came up that way, carbon and fast,” he says. Racing and Running Onward Olson says his clubfoot has resulted in very little plantarflexion and dorsiflexion, (about 10 percent according to the classifiers at USA Cycling Nationals), a smaller calf and lower leg, leg length difference, balance issues, and osteoarthritis throughout his midfoot. “For me, a stiff AFO works best to limit flexion to its usable range and avoid pain,” he says. “My brace really changed my life, and I wish I had found it sooner. I was going through life thinking this was as good as it gets, but now I know that’s not true. I have met many people in the para community, sponsors, other athletes with challenges, and the people at Allard who continue to inspire and help me be a better athlete and person.” The AFO also made it possible for Olson to join Operation Rebound, part of the Challenged Athletes Foundation supporting military and first responders, where he started competing in para-triathlon and cycling events. His current USA Triathlon ranking is 19th in Para Men, and he’s begun competing in the USA Cycling and Para Cycling Nationals hoping to earn a spot in the top ten this year. Olson, a certified optician who had been working for WalMart’s health and management division, decided in December 2021 to return to law enforcement full time, a career change that would allow him more time to devote to training and racing. “My goal is to inspire others who think they can’t,” he says. “Because if I can, anyone can.” Betta Ferrendelli can be contacted at betta@opedge.com . Captions: Olson was hesitant to join para-athletes in competition because having to admit he had a disability was uncomfortable. Then a friend said, “Dude, just do it.” Competition opened a new world for him. Photographs courtesy of Erik Olson. As one last option before having an amputation, Olson decided to try an AFO, used successfully by other athletes with lower-limb deficits such as clubfoot and foot drop, and that made all the difference. The AFO has made it possible for Olson to join Operation Rebound, part of the Challenged Athletes Foundation supporting military and first responders.

AFO Helps Athlete Keep a Competitive Edge

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