Tag Archives: AFO

Landmark study reveals critical shortage in UK prosthetic and orthotic workforce

Featured

Posted on by

A Staffordshire University study has revealed a significant deficit in the number of prosthetists, orthotists, prosthetic and orthotic technicians, and support workers in the UK.

The report by the Center for Biomechanics and Rehabilitation Technologies (CBRT) was formally launched on 6 November 2023.

This research, commissioned by the British Association of Prosthetists and Orthotists (BAPO), found there are currently 631 orthotists and 295 prosthetists employed nationwide. However, an additional 142 to 477 prosthetists/orthotists are needed to meet World Health Organization standards of care.

“This workforce shortage is worrying,” said Professor Nachi Chockalingam, Director of CBRT and a senior author of the study. “With our aging population, demand for prosthetic and orthotic services will only increase. We urgently need strategies to grow and sustain this profession.”

The study also identified a lack of qualified technicians and support workers to support prosthetist/orthotist teams, with a shortage of 1,133 to 1,803 individuals by WHO benchmarks. Significant recruitment challenges were reported by both NHS and private sector employers.

“This landmark report provides the hard evidence we need to take action,” said Dr. Nicky Eddison, lead researcher. “Working with professional bodies, higher education institutions and the industry we must inspire the next generation and make prosthetics/orthotics an attractive career choice.”

The report highlighted concerning retention issues as well, with one in five prosthetists/orthotists indicating they may leave the field in the next five years. Key factors driving attrition include lack of career progression, poor work-life balance and lack of flexibility.

Another senior author Dr. Aoife Healy, added, “Prosthetist/orthotist is an incredibly skilled profession that allows for a high degree of creativity combined with cutting-edge technology to transform patients’ lives.”

Mr. Peter Illif, the Chair of the British Association of Prosthetists and Orthotists said, “We need to nurture these professionals so they feel valued and able to thrive throughout their careers. BAPO has pledged to implement the report’s recommendations around enhanced educational programs, expanded roles for prosthetic/orthotic associates, and greater collaboration to sustain the workforce.”

“With commitment from all stakeholders, we can build the prosthetic/orthotic workforce needed to provide quality care to all who require it,” Professor Chockalingam said. “We look forward to partnering across the health sector to make this vision a reality.”

The full report “Exploration of the UK Prosthetic and Orthotic Workforce’ which is also available on the BAPO website.

Watch the report launch event to hear more about the research from the study’s authors.

Classification System for Bespoke Thermoplastic Ankle Foot Orthoses

Featured

Posted on by


Everyone agrees that not all Ankle Foot Orthoses (AFOs) are the same and they do not treat the same pathologies. Also different designs have varying effects on biomechanical function. However, the terms used to describe the different types of AFOs have not been fully classified and defined. This has led to the use of varying descriptions and acronyms resulting in poorly designed research studies (1,2) and a misunderstanding of research outcomes. The lack of classification has also resulted in generalisation on the effects of AFOs from research studies which have not been clear on the design of the AFO used or the presenting pathology it was used for (2), with some studies describing the AFO as “a standard AFO”, for which there is no definition. Standardised terminology and definitions for AFOs are critical in clinical practice, without these, there may be serious negative consequences, with the potential to cause harm.

We have now developed and validated a new classification system for different designs of bespoke thermoplastic AFOs.

Figure 1: Bespoke thermoplastic AFO classification chart.

The proposed classification system for bespoke thermoplastic AFOs, has an excellent inter- and intra-observer agreement. It will reduce the ambiguity of the description of the type of AFOs used in clinical practice and research. Furthermore, it makes reproducible comparisons between groups possible, which are essential for future evaluations of evidence-based orthotic care.

Read the full paper at:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0958259222000219

References:

  1. Figueiredo EM, Ferreira GB, Maia Moreira RC, Kirkwood RN, Fetters L, Figueiredo E, Ferreira G, Moreira R, Kirkwood R FL. Efficacy of Ankle-Foot Orthoses on Gait of Children with Cerebral Palsy: Systematic Review of Literature. Pediatr Phys Ther. 2008;20(3):207-223. doi:10.1097/PEP.0b013e318181fb34
  2. Eddison N, Mulholland M, Chockalingam N. Do research papers provide enough information on design and material used in ankle foot orthoses for children with cerebral palsy? A systematic review. J Child Orthop. Published online July 3, 2017:1-9. doi:10.1302/1863-2548.11.160256

Our latest work shows that children with Cerebral Palsy have more energy to play and be physically active for longer!

Featured

Posted on by

 

Our research shows that the appropriate design and tailoring of splints can reduce the energy used by children with CP while increasing their speed and distance, compared with a splint which is not fine-tuned. This is something which could have a significant impact on their quality of life.

During the study, the researchers analysed the walking pattern of children with cerebral palsy at our gait laboratory and participants were assessed while barefoot and with both non-tuned and tuned splints.

Children wearing the fine-tuned splints showed improvements in several areas including hip and pelvic function and knee extension, while a non-tuned splint potentially showed a decrease in hip function.

The full research findings, which were published in the June edition of the Foot Journal, are available below:

Postcode Lottery for NHS Orthotics Patients

Featured

Posted on by

Our latest paper published in the BMJ Open highlight large variances in appointment times, waiting times, product entitlements for patients, and product lead times across various NHS trusts.

Although some geographical areas provide shorter waiting times and wider access to assistive devices, other areas have very long waiting time which means that the service, particularly to the paediatric population is meaningless.

The NHS trusts seemed to be able to answer questions that reflect quantity of service above quality of service. However, the combination of the number of Trusts who declined to reply to the FOI request and those who replied with limited information, hindered the ability of this study to collate the data received to provide a fuller national picture of the Orthotic Service provision.

Although this paper confirms that many of the issues reported in previous reports on Orthotic Service provision are still evident, the result show that there have been some improvements.

Read the full paper here: https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/10/e028186

Press Release: https://www.staffs.ac.uk/news/2019/10/postcode-lottery-for-nhs-orthotics-patients

Congratulations – Nicky !

Posted on by

Nicola Eddison, one of the senior orthotists in the UK who recently completed her Ph.D at the Centre for Biomechanics and Rehabilitation Technologies writes on her experience:

I have worked in the NHS as the clinical lead for orthotics at the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, for over a decade. My passion is paediatric orthotics, primarily the provision of ankle foot orthoses – footwear combinations (AFO-FCs) for children with neurological conditions.

I chose to undertake a Ph.D to increase my understanding of the biomechanics involved in AFO prescriptions and to investigate the effects of AFO optimisation (commonly termed AFO tuning) in an attempt to improve clinical outcomes and better inform the wider clinical community.

My research focused on the effect of biomechanically optimised AFO-FCs on the gait of children with cerebral palsy.

This research is first of its kind, to offer data in a case series analysis format on AFO-FC tuning, providing individual data rather than group means. For a practising clinician this is very important as each patient is different. I hope others will follow this model. In addition, my work is also the first piece of research which looked at the effects of AFO-FC tuning on energy expenditure and patient perception.

The project provides quantitative data to support the importance of biomechanically optimising AFO-FCs and as such, it contributes to the improvement of AFO prescriptions for children with cerebral palsy.

I thoroughly enjoyed conducting this research and have applied my research knowledge to practice. I intend to continue working with Professor Chockalingam and Dr Healy to help tackle issues relating to Orthotics and Assistive Technology.

As Nachi says, “research is addictive” and I want to continue to work on clinically relevant research questions which will have a substantial impact on people’s lives.

Publications from Nicky’s work:

Eddison N and Chockalingam N (2012): The effect of tuning ankle foot orthoses-footwear combination on the gait parameters of children with cerebral palsy. Prosthet Orthot Int published online 24. July 2012. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309364612450706

Eddison N and Chockalingam N (2014): Ankle foot orthosis- footwear combination tuning: An investigation into common clinical practice in the United Kingdom. Published online before print February 24, 2014 Prosthet Othot Int February 24, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309364613516486

Eddison N and Chockalingam N (2014): Response: Turning of rigid ankle-foot orthoses is essential. Prosthet Orthot Int, first published on April 1, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309364614525734

Eddison N, Mulholland M and Chockalingam N. Do research papers provide enough information on design and material used in Ankle Foot Orthoses (AFO) for children with cerebral palsy (CP)? : A systematic review. Journal of Children’s Orthopaedics, 2017; 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1302/1863-2548.11.160256

Eddison N, Healy A, Needham R and Chockalingam N. Shank – to – Vertical – Angle in AFOs: A comparison of static and dynamic assessment in a series of cases. Journal of Prosthetics and Orthotics . JPO Journal of Prosthetics and Orthotics · August 2017. doi: 10.1097/JPO.0000000000000141

Eddison N, Healy A, Needham R and Chockalingam N: Exploratory investigation into energy expenditure using tuned versus non-tuned ankle foot orthoses- footwear combinations in children with cerebral palsy. JPO Journal of Prosthetics and Orthotics. 2018. In Press.

Effectiveness and Cost-effectiveness of Prosthetic and Orthotic Interventions

Posted on by

An Infographic on the Effectiveness and Cost-Effectiveness of Prosthetic and Orthotic Interventions

The International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics (ISPO) in partnership with the WHO, and funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), recently published Standards for Prosthetics and Orthotics Service Provision. These Standards were developed to encourage better access to prosthetics and orthotics services.

To support the development of these Standards we were commissioned by the ISPO, in partnership with WHO and USAID, to conduct a systematic review.

What was the context to the project?

It has been estimated that in excess of 100 million people across the world are in need of a prosthesis or orthosis. However, it is projected that only 1 in 10 people in need has access to prosthetic and orthotic devices. To date no one has completed an overall examination of research examining orthotic and prosthetic interventions across healthcare.

What was the aim of the project?

The aim of this project was to complete a systematic review of the research to date which has examined the effectiveness of prosthetic and orthotic interventions.

How was information gathered?

Searches across 14 databases were used to capture all research in this area.

What were the main findings?

A large volume of research has been conducted in this area, however, there was limited high quality prospective studies. 319 English language randomised controlled trials were identified with only 4 of these examining prosthetic interventions, the rest examined orthotic interventions.

At present, for prosthetic and orthotic interventions, the scientific literature does not provide sufficient high-quality research to allow strong conclusions on their effectiveness and cost-effectiveness.

Key statistics

  • The database searches resulted in a total of 28,958 articles.
  • 346 randomised controlled trials were identified, of which 323 were English language. Of the 323 English language RCTs, 319 examined orthotic interventions and 4 examined prosthetic interventions.
  • Orthotic interventions were categorised by the medical condition/injury with 68 categorises identified.
  • The most studies conditions were:
  • Osteoarthritis (30 studies)
  • Fractures (26)
  • Stroke (22)
  • Carpal tunnel syndrome (20)
  • Plantar fasciitis (18)
  • Anterior cruciate ligament (post-surgery) (16)
  • Diabetic foot (15)
  • Rheumatoid and juvenile idiopathic arthritis (13)
  • Ankle sprain (10)
  • Cerebral Palsy, Lateral Epicondylitis, Low back pain (8 studies each)

What are the implications of the findings?

This review highlighted the vast range of outcome measures utilised with few studies reporting on the same outcome measures. It was also evident that studies in general did not assess if the prosthetic or orthotic interventions allowed the users to participate in the activities of daily living in which they wished to perform, which is the major consideration for the user. There are many methodological issues within this area of research which need to be addressed to strengthen the quality of future research, which would then allow conclusive decisions to be made on the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of these interventions.

Link to full article:

Healy A, Farmer S, Pandyan A, Chockalingam N (2018) A systematic review of randomised controlled trials assessing effectiveness of prosthetic and orthotic interventions. PLoS ONE 13(3): e0192094. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0192094

Funding:

This work was supported by the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics (ISPO) (Sub-grant from ISPO’s Collaborative Agreement with USAID Rehabilitation of physically disabled people in developing countries – USAID cooperative agreement DFD-A-00-08-00309-00).