Passive Articulated and Non-Articulated Ankle–Foot Orthoses for Gait Rehabilitation: A Narrative Review

Abstract

The aim of this work was to study the different types of passive articulated and non-articulated ankle–foot orthoses for gait rehabilitation in terms of working principles, control mechanisms, features, and limitations, along with the recent clinical trials on AFOs. An additional aim was to categorize them to help engineers and orthotists to develop novel designs based on this research. Based on selected keywords and their composition, a search was performed on the ISI Web of Knowledge, Google Scholar, Scopus, and PubMed databases from 1990 to 2022. Forty-two studies met the eligibility criteria, which highlighted the commonly used types and recent development of passive articulated and non-articulated ankle–foot orthoses for foot drop. Orthotists and engineers may benefit from the information obtained from this review article by enhancing their understanding of the challenges in developing an AFO that meets all the requirements in terms of ease of use, freedom of movement, and high performance at a relatively low cost.

Functional and perceptive differences between conventional and advanced ankle foot orthoses in community ambulators post-limb trauma: the injuries managed with advanced bracing of the lower extremity (IM ABLE) study

“…Recent reviews of the literature ( 25 ) have described types of AFOs and the clinical trials exploring the impacts of these AFOs on stroke recovery, peripheral artery disease, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, and traumatic conditions. Fatone et al ( 26 ) completed a review to identify instruments to assess care quality for individuals with custom AFOs that recommended using the TUG as a quality measure for AFO care for persons with neurologic or traumatic conditions.…”

An Overview of Mathematical Methods Applied in the Biomechanics of Foot and Ankle–Foot Orthosis Models

“…Ankle-foot orthoses (AFOs) represent orthotic apparatus employed in the management of patients afflicted with aberrant gait patterns [1]. Their primary role is to provide assistance to individuals exhibiting pathological gait and to facilitate the process of rehabilitation [2]. In the context of ambulation, the term "gait cycle" is defined as the duration between two identical events commencing from the initial heel strike and culminating in the repetition of the same event for the same foot [3].…”