Studying the Effects of Using Two Types of Afos on the Ankle and Knee Joints Kinematics and Kinetics During Walking in the Sagittal Plane for A Patient with Severe DDH; Part 2

Abstract

Developmental Dysplasia of the hip DDH is considered as one of the most common Orthopedic Disorders, referring to a range of conditions from mild to severe dislocation of the hip joint. However, there are unclear gait alterations in individuals with DDH such as the investigation of the Ankle and Knee devices AFOs and their effect on the kinematics and kinetics of the joints during walking and running. This paper aimed to study and evaluate the kinematics and kinetics of the ankle and knee joints during walking in the sagittal plane for a patient age 26 with severe dysplasia of the left hip who is experiencing using two different types of ankle-foot Orthosis (Custom-made, and Leaf-AFO). The data were collected using ten cameras and one force plate. We used an inverse dynamic approach to calculate sagittal joint angles, moments and power. The results pointed out that the planter flexion angle reached the maximum during the time between the Toes-off the ground phase and the initial swing phase significantly by mean difference (21.1, 14 deg). Moreover, the results indicated that the fabricated orthosis has decreased both the right and left extensor moments significantly during the load-bearing phase in comparison to Barefoot by mean difference (0.29, and 0.43 Nm/kg) respectively for both limbs. The paper concluded that the kinematics and kinetics of the ankle joint improved by the Custom made-Orthosis more than that of the Leaf AFO-Spring Orthoses. Finally, it concluded that both AFOs did not change much the kinematics of the knee joint; however, there were some improvements in the moments and power generated. Index Terms-Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH), gait cycle, sagittal plane, ankle and knee joints, kinematics and kinetics, motion capture analysis, AFOs.