I quote below relevant excerpts from the responses I received. Aside from
responses with opinions to offer, I received quite a few requests to post
the results. I was was rather taken aback by what I can only characterize as
one rather peremptory request, nay demand, that I do so. i would suggest
that elementary courtesy is still appreciated by all in this medium of
communication as in all others. My thanks to all who took the time to reply..
Responses:
“I have made several full stride and safety stride KAFO’s. Not recommended
if hip strength is good. It is not a smooth system and is quite noisy.”
“I have done three SafetyStride SCO’s including one bilateral. For the
patients involved it was a very rewarding experience. In all three cases I
contemplated other systems before selecting the SafetyStride SCO from
Becker. In the end I felt that the expertise in SCO’s, cost and durability
factors swayed me to the Becker System.’
“I have used the E-mag active on two patients. One is completed and the
other is at Otto Bock in the final stages of fabrication. The first
person I used it on was a 65 year old man that had a bad surgery. He
lost motor function to his knee and ankle. The second is a 40 year old
post polio. As far as the orthosis goes, it is easy to use however I
feel it is difficult to get the patient to trust it out in the real
world. It does have a mode that will lock the knee if the patient feels
unsafe.’
“would use the safety stride over the full stride as the ss has a clutch
mechanism that locks when the heel is loaded making it more safe for pt if
they stumble . Consider using the extension assist for weak wuads . Haven’t
used the emag”
“I’ve used the FullStride from Becker. I found it comparable in action to
the Horton’s joint but much easier to fine tune the unlocking mechanism. I
was pleased with the result. (I’ve also used the Sensor Walk if you have any
questions about it…)
Pros: seemed very intuitive for my patient to learn… he is a slow
walker and used concentrated hip extension to ensure that the knee was
locked before moving into midstance on the involved side. If he had not had
good to normal hip extension or good proprioception, I would have moved him
into a joint that locks at any angle under flexion load for the sake of
safety.
Cons: will not lock in any other position than full extension (compared
to Sensor Walk, Horton’s, and Safetystride.)
Overall I was very pleased with the appearance, weight, adjustability and
function of the joint.”
—
Charles H Pritham CPO
