Foot and ankle orthoses that enable natural movement of the foot

摘要

An ankle brace includes upper and lower members with a hinge therebetween. The hinge is configured to be positioned at a location that corresponds to, or at least approximately corresponds to, a true axis of rotation of an individual's foot relative to the tibia bone in his or her lower leg. That axis of rotation is located below the tibialtalor junction, along which tibia and talus articulate as the foot is moved between dorsiflexion and plantarflexion orientations. A foot orthosis includes an arch support that is configured to support at least a portion of a longitudinal arch of an individual's foot regardless of whether or not a ground reaction force is applied to the arch support or to the foot. Such an arch support and an orthosis of which it is a part may be configured to exert an upward force on the longitudinal arch regardless of whether or not any weight is applied to the foot or to the arch support. The arch support may be configured to follow or substantially follow a path of the posterior tibial tendon through the ankle and foot. An orthsis may include both the arch support and the hinge. Methods for support ankles and feet are also disclosed.

主权项

1. An ankle brace, comprising:
an upper member configured to be secured to a lower leg of an individual; a lower member configured for placement beneath at least a portion of a foot of the individual; a hinge connecting the upper member and the lower member, the hinge configured to be positioned at an elevation lower than a tibialtalor junction at an ankle of the individual when the upper member is secured to the lower leg of the individual; and a tracking element configured to stabilize the ankle during movement of a foot between full dorsiflexion and full plantarflexion, the tracking element including:
a protruding tracking guide; andan arcuate receptacle for the tracking guide, the arcuate receptacle defining a path for the protruding tracking guide, the path having a shape configured to generally follow movement of a tibia of a leg of the individual over a profile of a tibial trochlea of a talus bone of the foot of the individual, the arcuate receptacle positioned at a location of the ankle brace that will substantially align the path with the tibial trochlea when the ankle brace is positioned over the ankle, the protruding tracking guide and the arcuate receptacle together defining a range of motion for the lower member.