My Braces

I have many different braces that I use throughout the day and night. They are mainly for stability and to keep me aligned, or in the right position. The braces that I wear most often are my AFO's (ankle foot orthotics); I have three pairs. They help prevent foot drop.

This is how my foot usually is, in a dropped position. The AFO's help stretch my foot out to a 90° angle. The socks on my feet are called Ted socks. I have ones that go all the way up to my thigh that I wear during the day and ones that just go up to my knees that I wear at night. They help with blood circulation.

I wear these AFO's during the day when I'm up in my wheelchair.

I wear these braces at night when I'm sleeping. They are padded to keep me from getting pressure sores on my feet when I lay on them.

These are called dynamic AFO's. They have straps on the sides to adjust the foot part more than 90° to give me a bigger stretch. I wear these twice a day (in my wheelchair) for one hour at a time.

These are called WHO's (wrist hand orthotics). I wear them at night when I'm sleeping to keep my hands stretched.

These are my elbow braces that I wear at night when I'm sleeping to keep my elbows straight.

I also wear a back brace during the day to keep my trunk supported and my spine from curving. It is very comfortable for me and I don't feel right when I don't have it on. I wear it over my T-shirt and under my sweater so it doesn't show. You'll rarely see me wearing just a T-shirt unless I'm outside when it's hot. I just prefer to have the brace covered. I also wear fuzzy socks over my AFO's so you can't see my feet. I don't know of any pair of shoes that would fit over them, unless they were specially made. However then I would probably look like I had clown shoes on.

Jenni