Annales de readaptation et de medecine physique : revue scientifique de la Societe francaise de reeducation fonctionnelle de readaptation et de medecine physique. 51(3)
OBJECTIVE: In the hemiplegic adult, gait is frequently perturbed by lack of ankle dorsiflexion at toe-off and may prompt prescription of an ankle-foot orthosis (AFO). Our objective was to evaluate the effect on gait of a dynamic AFO (the Chignon((R)) orthosis) in comparison with a prefabricated AFO (PAFO). METHOD: Ten chronic hemiplegic patients performed a 10m gait test and then underwent an instrumented treadmill gait test under three different sets of conditions (without an orthosis, with a PAFO and with a Chignon((R)) orthosis). The energy cost was calculated by measuring the oxygen consumption during gait. RESULTS: The patients' free-walking speed was higher with the Chignon((R)) orthosis (0.81+/-0.25ms(-1)) than without it (0.64+/-0.25ms(-1); p
