CP brace

christophe1989

hi so I have a type of CP, and wear a leg brace (AFO) on my left leg its knee high... now I wish to work out specifically my lower half and have hit a snag. as I wear my brace 85% of the time surely any exercise I do regarding calf muscles etc will be instantly be held back because I have to wear the brace most of the time, I would really like to get this question answered before I proceed further.

thanks

niceboots

Hi I have cp and wear an afo on my left leg and a dafo on my right, last year I got a new slightly flexible afo and have managed to build a little more calf muscle on that side than with the more solid afo I had before. I cycle a lot, both on the road and in the gym, which is a great lower body workout, I also used the rower which is also a good full body workout. Maybe speak to your orthotist to see if there’s a suitable alternative afo for you, or even just workout with the brace off. I used to take mine off when cycling in the gym, when I had my solid afo. Hope this helps

Pippa_Alumni

Hi @christophe1989, and welcome to the community! It's great to have you here. 

I hope the above response was helpful. You may also find this past discussion on adult orthoses interesting, although it's not specific to working out and exercise. I wonder if @Jean_Scope could add anything to the above?

christophe1989

hi,

thanks for getting back to me, yeah that was my first thought was to workout without the brace, I'm just concerned that working out without will have little affects as I must wear my brace for walking despite I can walk without but only short distances but will definitely speak to my orthotist regarding a suitable replacement as I don't feel I can comfortably work out until I have a better understanding of the matter.

thanks

Jean_OT

Hi @christope1989

Although you would most likely need to fund the purchase privately I think it would be worth exploring if a dynamic splint would be suitable for your needs. One company that makes them is Second Skin: 

https://www.secondskin.com.au/Products/dynamic_foot_splints

They run clinics in the UK. 

Best Wishes

Jean 

christophe1989

Hi jean,

Thank you ever so much for the tip there have just emailed them so will see what they have to offer with a bit of luck I'll turn over a few more stones.

Thanks again

niceboots

Hi just wondering, do you work out already? Or is it something you are new to? Have you got certain exercises you have in mind that you particularly want to do? I manage to all of the workouts I like to do with my splints on. In fact I think they actually help with keeping a good position and form, particularly when I’m lifting weights.

christophe1989

Hi, Yeah I currently work out but am looking into building my lower half including calf muscles but am worried that I'll start doing so but will hold up the building of that particular muscle group because I wear my brace most of the time.. I have spoken to my orthotist but they were less then helpful!