The Insightful Orthotics Blog
Blaze MI Testimonial
Sometimes custom bracing is the only solution for such things as Posterior Tibial Dysfunction (PTTD). Video Transcript: Well, basically this brace really changed my life because I couldn’t walk very well before without pain and now I can walk without pain. I can work out in the gym. I can hike again. I can do things that I used to be able to do. I’ve had several orthotics made which worked for a while and then my foot would just kept deteriorating so we had to move into something different and this has worked great. I’m a bus driver so i have to use that foot all the time.
How to Cast for AFO (Custom Ankle Braces)
There are a variety of casting techniques used for custom AFO’s or custom ankle braces. The video describes the best casting techniques and strategies that can be used to optimize custom bracing outcomes. Video Transcript:What the foot looks like in a neutral position when you get this…So what we try to communicate to our customers is that that having a design that’s a semi-weight bearing cast in the neutral position with the patient sitting on a chair…it’s not fully weight-bearing. You don’t want a fully weight-bearing cast because then you can’t possibly provide any pressure at all. So it’s our contention that a semi-weight bearing situation like this will give us the opportunity to correct for the pathology without distorting the cast to the point of which it’s really a shot in the dark. So, I’m going to show you techniques for making this cast and techniques for making this
Post Tib Solution – Blaze Brace Biomechanics
Solution for Post Tib or Posterior Tibial Tendon dysfunction (PTTD) and related biomechanics – custom brace (AFO) solution for Post Tib tendonitis that may help avoid the need for surgery. Video Transcript: In this video, we’re going to explore bracing techniques used to treat medial instability, specifically the principles used by the Blaze Brace. We like to use the term medial instability since there are many names and conditions that fit this general term. For instance, somebody in the podiatry field might call it posterior tib, an orthotist might refer to it as external rotatory deformity and a PT might just call it flatfoot. Each profession has a slightly different take on the subject, but for our discussions here, broadening the term to medial instability works for us. Here are some examples of what medial instability looks like. For those that have treated this condition with bracing, you are likely
AFO Solutions – Reliefs or Windows
In this Week’s video blog, we discuss the use of reliefs or windows in Insightful’s ankle bracing techniques. In the case of posterior tibial tendon dysfunction (PTTD), the medial column of the ankle can be collapsed which results in prominent areas of the foot and ankle. While we attempt to make correction to the PTTD, these areas of the foot and ankle need relief. Without relief, the post tib patient will feel pain. In order to provide correction and relief at the same time, we apply pressure to the more tolerant areas of the foot and ankle while avoiding the prominent painful areas. For more information, go to www.insightful-products.com or AFO-blog.com or call us at 207-885-0414. Video Transcript: Hi, Ian here from Insightful Bracing. We’re going to talk about the Blaze MI and how we control medial movement within the foot, in the brace. We do this with a series of
Saying ‘PTTD’ is misleading: It’s time for a new lexicon to distinguish pathologies
Lower Extremity Review (LER) Magazine Excerpt.By Ian Engelman, MS, CPO. Ian Engelman, MS, CPO, developer of the patented Blaze MI AFO for medial column breakdown, is owner and President of Insightful Products, LLC. He also developed the Step-Smart Brace for drop foot and the Funnel shoe horn. Have you read Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell? In the book, he observes that expertise is developed through tenacity and repeated observation and presents examples of what he calls the “10,000-hour rule” for mastering a craft or field of inquiry. I mention this because, over the past 15 years, I have designed more than 15,000 ankle–foot orthoses by working with 3-dimensional plaster models. Each model takes, on average, 1 hour to make—causing some practitioners to burn out. I have remained in the plaster room, however, and, although I don’t pretend to compare myself to the leaders described in Outliers, I have
Best Post Tib Brace
In this video blog, we discuss the importance of casting the post tib patient’s foot and ankle in a neutral position. If the cast is taken in a full weight bearing position, it can be difficult to provide the needed correction to the AFO or custom ankle brace for posterior tibial tendonitis. Video Transcript: Hi, Ian here from Insightful Products. We’re here with Arthur and he’s got posterior tib otherwise known as Posterior tibialis tendonitis. And you can see the bruising here on the medial side where this tendon is being stretched because of the collapse of the medial column. So, this whole medial column here is moving medially when he weight bears. Can you stand up for a second? You can see it collapsed right like that. So, if we took a cast in full weight bearing like this with this collapse, we’d never have an opportunity to make