Effect of Ankle-foot Orthoses on Balance Confidence

Effect of Ankle-foot Orthoses on Patients' Confidence in Balance-related Activities

The patients at our Prosthetics and Orthotics Outpatient Clinic who have had an ankle-foot orthosis for at least one year will fill in the Activities-Specific Balance Confidence Scale (ABC Scale) for wearing the orthosis and for not wearing the orthosis. They will also answer a mini survey about falls in order to determine whether they have fallen within the last 6 months.

The effect of the orthosis will be estimated as the difference between the two ABC Scale scores. The ABC Scale score and individual items will be compared between the fallers and the non-fallers.

Inclusion Criteria:

• patients at our Prosthetics and Orthotics Outpatient Clinic having an ankle-foot orthosis for at least 1 year

Exclusion Criteria:

• insufficient cognitive ability to fill in the ABC Scale