Authors
Olivia Raspotnik PT, DPT, Christian Wilhelm PT, DPT, Kimberly Beren Shepler, Abbis Jaffri PT, MS, PhD - Creighton University
Introduction
High incidence of falls in the geriatric population causes significant risk for injury and increasing healthcare costs. Currently, no gold standard brace is established for stability in older adults. The purpose of this study was to evaluate patient preferences, functional testing, and center of pressure (COP) sway in different orthotic conditions, providing information on stability and balance for the aging adult.
Methods
This was a laboratory-based crossover study with 18 subjects (12F;6M, age: 74.67±5.26 years, height: 167.85 ± 10.36 cm, mass: 76.76 ± 16.92kg). Four orthosis conditions were evaluated: participant`s own shoe, TayCo Brace, a balance brace (BB), and walking/CAM boot. For each orthotic condition, 3 single leg balance (SLB) trials and Timed-Up and Go (TUG) test were completed. Participants rated each brace for overall perceived stability and comfort.
Results
There were significant differences (p=0.001) between TayCo and CAM boot in AP COP excursion, but no significant difference (p>0.05) between TayCo, BB, and participant own shoes. There were significant differences (p=0.02) between TayCo and BB in ML COP excursion, but no significant differences (p>0.05) between TayCo, CAM boot, and participant’s shoes. There were significant differences (p=0.02) between TayCo and BB as well as between (p=0.002) TayCo and CAM boot in overall COP velocity, but no significant difference (p>0.05) for participant’s own shoes. For perceived stability, participants found the walking boot to be significantly (p<0.05) less stable than their own shoes, TayCo brace, and BB. For perceived comfort, they found significantly (p=0.034) more comfort in their own shoes compared to the TayCo brace but found TayCo brace to be significantly more comfortable (p<0.01) than the BB and the CAM boot.
Discussion
TayCo Brace provided improved balance with the smallest COP excursion overall and showed higher patient perceived outcomes compared to other conditions. The CAM boot was the worst for perceived and measured outcomes.
