Abstract:

BACKGROUND: For children with cerebral palsy, the traditional metal ankle-foot orthosis have many shortcomings such as multiple manufacturing processes, high production conditions, difficult to repair post-production and heavy, a growing number of researchers have adopted modern polymer materials for the ankle-foot orthosis production.
OBJECTIVE: To analyze the materials science characteristics of several ankle-foot orthosis materials, and to investigate the application of ankle foot orthoses in the treatment of knee hyperextension in children with cerebral palsy.
METHODS: An online search of CNKI Database (www.cnki.net/index.htm) was performed by the first author using the key words of “knee hyperextension, cerebral palsy, ankle-foot orthosis” in Chinese to search the title and abstract. Articles that timely and accurately report the research progress and application of ankle-foot orthosis in treatment of children with cerebral palsy were selected, a total of 19 articles were included in the analysis.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Ankle-foot orthosis production materials include polymer resins, polyethylene, polypropylene, low-temperature thermoplastic sheet, and semi-finished polymer fiber. Children with cerebral palsy carrying ankle-foot orthosis can enhance the stability of ankle joint, reduce muscle tension, improve walking speed and pace, improve gait function.