Brace Orthopaedic are delighted to be sponsoring the Malvern Diabetic Foot conference for the second consecutive year.
The 2022 event will be the 19th meeting since its inception in 1986 and it is recognised as the longest standing biennial International Diabetic Foot meeting with renowned speakers from USA, Belgium, Netherlands and the UK.
This 3 day conference brings together Surgeons, Podiatrists, Orthotists and Nursing staff with a common interest in treating Diabetic Foot problems.
“After 2 years of Covid restrictions it is fantastic to be meeting clinicians face to face at a major conference and exhibition once again,” explained Gary Barrett, National Sales Manager. “This event offers a perfect opportunity to showcase the high quality, Fior & Gentz Diabetic footwear, of which Brace Orthopaedic are proud to be the exclusive UK distributors.
The clinicians we are meeting have been very enthusiastic about the Fior & Gentz products and have been particularly impressed by the high quality manufacturing, developed over the last 25 years, which ensures optimum protection of the Diabetic Foot.”
“In addition, some of the clinical benefits of this extensive footwear range include; the rigid rocker bottom soles which provide enhanced biomechanical control, availability of high quality EVA insoles which can be adapted to provide off-loading of a diabetic foot ulcer and concealed stitching which provide a good interface between the shoe upper and the patient’s skin.”
If you would like to learn more about Brace Orthopaedic’s range of innovative orthoses or indeed arrange a product demonstration, then please contact Customer Services on 0191 258 8944 where Cathryn or Iain would be delighted to help. Alternatively, please visit our website at www.braceorthopaedic.co.uk
For the last ten days I have watched in horror the events in Ukraine and felt largely helpless. Like many others I am finding it hard to focus on day-to-day work whilst watching this humanitarian crisis unfold.
It has been humbling to see the response of those countries bordering Ukraine and the way in which they are responding to the needs of tens of thousands of refugees. Offering shelter, food, both medical and psychological help, as well as transport to accommodation in ordinary people’s homes.
On a practical level it was apparent Ukraine would have a need for all medical related products and of course medical devices. I have utilised my European network to make contact with a major hospital in Ukraine and they have confirmed they need all forms of trauma related orthopaedic braces, splints and supports for all body parts. These products can be taken to Poland and handed over for onward transportation to Ukraine.
I am putting together a contribution of those relevant trauma related products in the Brace Orthopaedic portfolio, but can also facilitate donations from those within our UK Orthotics industry who wish to contribute appropriate devices.
At Brace Orthopaedic this year, more than any other, we have learnt the importance of being able to offer a consistent and timely service to our customers. That is why we are maintaining an essentially normal service over the holiday period.
Our aim is to ensure our clinical partners can still get access to the full range of products that we offer, when they need them. This way we hope that any patient simply requiring a brace to enable them to leave hospital and return home for the festive period, should be able to do so.
Detailed in the table below is our Christmas schedule. Should you require any further detail, or need further clarification please do not hesitate to call our Customer Services on 0191 258 8944 where Cathryn or Iain would be delighted to help. Alternatively, for general product information please visit our website at www.braceorthopaedic.co.uk
Christmas Opening Hours 2020.
We wish all of our customers a very Happy and safe Christmas.
Brace Orthopaedic are committed to only offering unique products to the Orthotic industry, that contain new technologies or innovative features and help to improve clinical effectiveness and/or patient compliance. This goes hand-in-hand with our commitment for in-depth and on-going training and education to the clinicians using those products. Our close links with universities offering P&O educational courses here in the UK is part of this strategy, so that future Orthotists get exposure to these unique products before they qualify.
Last week Alex Falkonakis, Clinical Sales Specialist at Brace Orthopaedic, gave a series of six one-hour workshops to small groups of students at Salford University on the MKS range of spinal braces. The workshops were very well organised and allowed students to get a thorough understanding of the biomechanical principles of the braces, as well as practical experience in how those braces are applied in a clinical environment.
The ‘MKS’ range of spinal braces by German manufacturer Albrecht represent arguably the most thorough approach to this area of Orthotics. Their orthoses combine high quality and exceptional biomechanical control with a design that minimises bulk and weight in order to maximise comfort and compliance and use a modular approach in order to ensure huge amounts of adjustability to patients of all sizes and shapes.
Students first had the chance to use the ‘Osteo’ range of LSO’s and TLSO’s. These are some of the most commonly used braces, ideal for patients requiring small amounts of biomechanical control who also need a minimal, light-weight, discreet brace to avoid compliance issues. Students then used the ‘Thorecta’ range of TLSO’s, which represent the braces with the highest amount of biomechanical control, aiming to provide maximum immobilisation in all three planes for trauma patients with complex fractures. Their unique minimal design does not simply reduce weight and heat accumulation, but also allows easy access for wound care, lines, stoma care, etc. The modular design also allows Orthotists to adjust the exact position of force systems applied, in order to optimise biomechanical control.
Brace Orthopaedic would like to thank Robert Fulford, Programme Leader Prosthetics & Orthotics, for organising these workshops and for inviting us to present the MKS spinal braces.
If you would like to learn more about Brace Orthopaedic’s range of innovative orthoses or indeed arrange a product demonstration, then please contact Customer Services on 0191 258 8944 where Cathryn or Iain would be delighted to help. Alternatively, please visit our website at www.braceorthopaedic.co.uk
‘Vancouver near Stanley Park. A 6-7km walk which I could not have done without a great deal of physical discomfort, if not considerable pain’
David M. was assessed by his Orthotist Mhairi Friel of the Foot and Leg Clinic in Glasgow and fitted with a CDS Knee Extension brace a few months ago, to help compensate for his quads weakness and to correct his knee hyperextension. This is his story:
“I have a background in exercise and knowledge base of sports science. I used to rock climb and was very adventurous. The increasing weakness in my quadriceps took a lot of my mobility away. The cause (as suggested by consultant neurologists at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital) is lower spine nerve damage, likely as it branches to the left leg. The weakness manifested in 1999 and within a few years, certainly by 2005/6, I was locking out my left knee to walk. For clarity, on a standard, leg extension resistance machine, I cannot move, let alone lift the lightest plate, which in my own gym is 5Kg. I stopped climbing and more recently realised that my walking range (always on a locked-out knee) was becoming far shorter due to pain.
I literally spent weeks, if not months, trying to find a device that would offer a resistance loading that would counteract the weak extension power of my quadriceps. I chose the CDS Knee Extension. And I needed a private consultant, Mhairi Friel, to order it. Mhairi is an excellent practitioner and nothing should be taken away from her knowledge and service. Without her amazing help and understanding, I’m not sure how things would have been.
Prior to wearing the CDS Knee Brace, I would find my left knee painful after minimal walking distances (even on flat terrain), all due to the locking out of the joint. Although I also suffer from a weak gastrocnemius, the resistance of the mechanism allows me to walk with a more natural cadence. With the brace on, I found that there was no symptom of discomfort in my knee. In fact, it has been of great benefit to increase some functional performance in my gastrocnemius, especially from an endurance perspective. I have managed to walk up and down hills, even in rough terrain, without any major issue. Of course, I still fatigue but the pain is gone and that allows me to plan for a long journey. The CDS Knee Brace has given me the ability to place weight on a bent knee, taking away the need to constantly lockout. I use the tension function set at a relatively high level – 10. But that has given me tremendous support and confidence when walking. As mentioned, my walking style had also reduced the use of my lower leg muscles but with the brace forcing me to use plantar flexion, I have noticed slight growth and increased endurance, especially in the medial head of my gastrocnemius.
This was essential for my recent trip to Canada where I knew I would be walking more than normal. Without the brace, I would not have been able to enjoy the sights I saw in my three-week adventure. In fact, without the brace, I have no doubt I could not have even reached those sights – and that is not an exaggeration. Apart from the functionality of the brace, it is remarkably comfortable, considering how much of my leg it covers. It is an invaluable part of my mobility. I literally cannot get far without it.”
“The above photo was taken after a 3.8km hike up into bear country – the view overlooks the town of Bella Coola, in British Columbia. Again, I can’t express enough how much this would not have been possible without the brace to support me both up and downhill.”
“This photo was taken in San Josef Bay, Vancouver Island. The walk was across flat terrain but was several kilometres. Again, this walk would have required constant locking out which would have made the trek unbearable. The knee brace took me to the edge of the Pacific Ocean.” Share this with a friend or colleague
Brace Orthopaedic are proud to be sponsoring the “Orthotic Management of Contractures” course taking place at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital in Oswestry today. The course run by the ORLAU (Orthotic Research & Locomotor Assessment Unit) is organised in conjunction with the Orthopaedic Institute.
Brace Orthopaedic distribute the leading range of active dynamic orthoses (utilising spring-loaded hinges) for contractures management in the upper and lower limb, called CDS (Controlled Dynamic Stretch), manufactured in Germany by Albrecht GmbH. The CDS range of orthoses are being used in a variety of pathologies including orthopaedic or neurological lesions, burns & plastics, etc. and cover all sizes of users from large adults to small children. The range includes orthoses for the wrist and hand, elbow, knee and ankle joints, with a recent addition of the only active dynamic orthosis to manage knee flexion contractures of below-knee amputees.
CDS orthoses allow clinicians to quantify the exact amount of force applied on the contracted tissues and define the exact range of movement allowed (with increments as little as one degree and even allowing hyperextension, if required). Features like the easy shaping of the aluminium shells around the limb without the need for a heat gun and the positional adjustment of each shell proximally-distally ensure an optimal fit for users of very different shapes and sizes. User compliance is maximised not only through the careful adjustment of the forces utilised, but also by features such as the large, anatomically shaped shells to minimise applied pressures, the air permeability of the shells, the simple on-off switches for the spring tension and the ski boot-type clips for easy donning-doffing. Significantly, unlike static methods of contractures management, the functional use of the limb treated is being maintained and even enhanced by the use of the forces which can supplement the function of weakened muscles, in order to assist the user to participate in activities of daily living (ADLs).
The Orthopaedic Institute is a charity, in existence since the 1970s and was formed to provide funds for Education and Research in the various Departments of the Robert Jones & Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital. If you are interested in reading about the research and education projects they have supported then please visit www.orthopaedic-institute.org.
If you would like to hear more about Brace Orthopaedic’s range of CDS active dynamic orthoses or indeed arrange a product demonstration, then please call Customer Services on 0191 258 8944 where Cathryn or Iain would be delighted to help. Alternatively, please visit our website at www.braceorthopaedic.co.uk
In October we here at Brace Orthopaedic have chosen to feature the MKS® Osteo Flex Plus as our product of the month. The MKS® Osteo Flex Plus aids those suffering from Osteoporosis, by helping to straighten the vertebral column to relieve the thoracic spine.
If you are a UK based clinician and would like to find out more about the MKS® Osteo Flex Plus or indeed any of our products, then please contact Iain or Cathryn at sales@braceorthopaedic.co.uk or call 0191 258 8944 for further information or to arrange a product presentation.
The Brace Orthopaedic September featured product is focusing on the CDS® Knee Brace Extension. This product from the Brace Orthopaedic range, functions according to the principle of Controlled Dynamic Stretch and has been designed to treat an extension deficit of the knee.
If you are a UK based clinician and would like to find out more about the CDS® Knee Brace Extension or indeed any of our products, then please contact Iain or Cathryn at sales@braceorthopaedic.co.uk or call 0191 258 8944 for further information or to arrange a product presentation.
A couple of weeks ago Alex Falkonakis, Sales Manager and Clinical Specialist, visited the Foot & Leg Clinic in Glasgow run by Mhairi Friel, a Biomechanics Clinical Specialist and Senior Orthotist. Mhairi had a patient who was struggling with functional problems and pain in his left knee. This man was in his fifties, with a suspected lower motor neuron lesion following a back injury when he was in his teens. Over the years this resulted in significant muscle atrophy and weakness in his (L) leg. He had been experiencing functional problems due to increased quads weakness, with his knee buckling when walking down steps or a slope, or if he stepped with his heel on a stone. As a compensation, he got used to locking his knee into full extension during walking which started creating pain at the posterior structures, without however any hyperextension as yet.
Alex assisted Mhairi to fit a CDS knee brace with extension assist on this man. Despite the extensive muscle atrophy, the pliable aluminium shells which can be adjusted in height individually, helped to achieve a perfect fit. The extension assist was adjusted to a level that was supporting his knee extensors adequately, without feeling too stiff during gait. The end result was that the patient was able to walk on even ground and climb up/down stairs without the need to lock his knee, while feeling confident about his knee stability.
If you would like to hear more about Brace Orthopaedic’s range of CDS active dynamic orthoses or indeed arrange a product demonstration, then please call Customer Services on 0191 258 8944 where Cathryn or Iain would be delighted to help. Alternatively, please visit our website at www.braceorthopaedic.co.uk
As you will be aware by now, each month we are featuring a product from the Brace Orthopaedic range. In July we have chosen to focus on the Stride OA because it is Easy to Fit, Easy to Wear and Easy to Stock.
If you are a UK based clinician and would like to find out more about the Stride OA or indeed any of our products, then please contact Iain or Cathryn at sales@braceorthopaedic.co.uk or call 0191 258 8944 for further information or to arrange a product presentation.
