Hi,
Has anyone had any experience of a SAFRO which is a Silicone Ankle Foot Orthosis and appears to be a sort of lightweight boot and is supposed to stop your foot from turning over. At the moment I have an Orthotic from our local hospital which works well but is cumbersome and more importantly is impossible for me to put on by myself. It has a strap at the back that I cant see and therefore need to rely on my husband being here. Although I have mentioned this at the Orthic clinic Ive received no helpful answer. The SAFRO just seems to pull on although I haven’t actually tried one yet. Would be grateful if anyone has any info.
Janet
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Have you tried the sloping insole in your shoe? If not I’d suggest trying one in your slipper for a few weeks. Its about 0.5cm thick along the full length of the outside edge to toes. And it slopes to about a millimeter along the inside edge. So it basically wedges up the outside of your foot to reduse the risks of foot roll.
It certainly helped mine enough so that I only had to concentrate on the control of my foot drop then. With the rolling issue shored up I felt my footdrop didn’t seem as severe just for doing that much for it.
I never got anything from my physio to support my foot, so I’ve had to wing it most of the way and find my own solution.
And after about 6/8 months of wearing one in all my footwear, my toes uncurled and the foot stopped rolling. There is the ghost of an urge to roll when fatigued but it never actually rolls unless I do it deliberately.
The point is, you may be able to find an easier and more suitable solution for your foot drop if the rolling is taken care of by the insole.
Lorraine
Note: Just checked back through my Foot Drop Recovery post and it was back in September 2024 when I posted about my foot not rolling anymore; so that would have been about 3½ years after my stroke.
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Excellent news I’m four years on and am still wearing a very uncomfortable AFO that braces the rolling ankle and lifts the drop toes if the strapping is tight enough.
As with all Velcro I have to replace my strapping every few months as it loses its grip and the pressure on the AFO pops the straps open.
Anyone seen that electrical foot stimulation aid for around£45 that pulses the base of the foot to aid electrical signal to the brain. I’m not sure but would like it if someone has practical experience of using one
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Hi. I havent got any experience of this but do have plenty of experience of an Orthotic which I hate! Fair enough it works well and does stop my ankle turning over but - and only women will understand this! - I hate putting on a summer dress and seeing all this velcro strapped round my leg sticking out from the bottom of my skirt! So if anyone does have any experience of using any other type of AFO that actually works I would love to hear about it. Janet