Specialized Orthopedic Solutions Inc. Orthotics design involves the process of assessment, measurement, fabrication and fitting.  Each case requires an evaluation to assess individual patient needs.

LOWER EXTREMITY

Lower extremity orthotics involves any type of support working on any part of the body at the hip joint or below.  In addition to offering a full line of off-the-shelf orthotic products, we specialize in custom designed versions for each individual case.  Our certified practitioners will design your orthosis utilizing state of the art techniques and materials.

We approach every case at the bottom…the foot.  Our philosophy is that, when dealing with lower extremity, each joint is only as stable as the one below it.  That is why we start at the plantar surface of the foot, stabilizing each joint involved as we move higher.  The result is a more comfortable fit with better control.  Like prosthetics, all custom orthotics require an impression, which may be done in a variety of methods from hand casting to digital scanning.

FOOT ORTHOTICS

Foot Orthotics are generally removeable and can be placed into any appropriate shoe. Foot orthotics come in two basic types, accommodative and functional.

Accommodative:  As the name suggests, this type is for accommodation rather than to change biomechanics.  This is essentially a well-padded, mirror-image of the bottom of the foot with possible reliefs for hot spots.  This is the type often prescribed for diabetic foot pathologies.  In diabetes, the patient has lost protective sensation and is unable to feel injuries.  If a diabetic wound is not cared for immediately, the possibility of infection and amputation is high. The goal is to provide a specialized foam insert that will provide a stable walking surface and protect the foot from injury.  These are generally bulkier than the average functional type requiring a shoe with more available volume.

Functional:  Functional orthotics are indicated when desiring to control the foot, primarily changing or immobilizing the positions of joints in the hindfoot, midfoot and or forefoot.  These come in a variety of thicknesses, lengths and materials depending on their specific purpose.

UCBL

These are higher profile functional foot orthotics required when exerting higher levels of forces requiring additional surface area.  UCBLs are required in moderate to severe hyper-pronation and hyper-supination dysfunctions.

ANKLE FOOT ORTHOSES (AFO)

These typically are thermoplastic in construction and include the lower leg in addition to the foot for greater control of biomechanical problems such as club foot, cerebral palsy, hemiplasias, CVAs, and other etiologies. They are fabricated from individual molds of the patient’s extremity. We also supply prefabricated AFOs for less complex and involved biomechanical issues such as simple “drop foot”.

Each design solution is specific to the problem presented. AFOs can be static with no movement, jointed to provide free motion, or any degree of limited or assisted motion by means of stops or springs. In some instances, mild knee instabilities can be controlled by AFOs without having to encompass the knee itself.

KNEE ORTHOTICS (KOS)

With the ever increasing world of leisure activities, high intensity school athletics, and recreational sports, more and more people hurt themselves trying to have a good time or excel at a specific sport. Also, as we age and continue to engage in our favorite activities our knee joints can be susceptible to debilitating arthritis that can put pain and stress on our knees. Northeast O&P has access to virtually every knee orthosis manufactured. We provide a spectrum of supports from simple therapeutic knee wraps to highly engineered orthoses that are capable of unloading a specific part of the knee joint or limiting the range of motion about the knee in a graduated fashion. Ligament tears, subluxing patellae, and osteoarthritis are just some of the diagnoses seen

KNEE ANKLE FOOT ORTHOTICS (KAFOS)

This type of orthosis encompasses the knee, ankle, and foot to control a limb that is flail from the knee down. Hemiparetics, paraplegics, later stages of multiple sclerosis, post polio syndrome are some of the etiologies requiring this level of bracing. Traditionally, these orthoses always required a locked knee to be safe and functional for standing and walking. They expended a great deal of energy to use and often were discarded. Today’s technology uses simple physics, electronic sensors under the foot, and weight shifting of the body over the extremity to automatically and safely lock the knee during weight bearing and unlocking the knee during unweighted swing. This reduces the energy spent in the effort to walk on a level surface in a reciprocal fashion.