My 5 year old needs splints but unsure what they are and if they do any good

[jake0711]

I recently went to an appointment with my son jake to see his specialist. He has spastic diplegia but thankfully can walk. He falls a lot because of his tightness. He is 6 next month and currently wears pierdios which he has been wearing for about 3 and a half years. When we seen jakes specialist she examined him and said he was very stiff and that splints may help this as they would continually stretch his muscles . I was a bit confused cause she explained to me that when a child only had one splint then they would have to have the shoe on that foot about 2 or 3 sizes bigger than the shoe on the leg without the splint. I then thought well maybe he is getting splints for both legs but then she said he will be getting the splint on his left leg (which is the worst ). Can anyone tell me how long children normally have theses for and also if they do any good and also what they are. I was in the doctors office a long time and was nt expecting her to say my jake needed splints so i never had any questions prepared , thanks , lesley xx

My son moved form Piedros to splints (technically AFOs..ankle foot orthosis) when he was 6 too. In his case he wears them on both legs which is handy because it means I just get bigger trainers to go over them.. it's slightly more of a nuisance with one splint as one shoe needs to be bigger and the other doesn't.I have only ever needed to get trainers one -1.5 sizes bigger.

My DS2 is now 13.. still wearing them and they are just part of his life, we don't even think about it. They have made him walk better, walk further and, as he has got bigger and heavier, minimized the damage to his feet and muscles that his style of walking have had on him. He prefers to wear them (we give him 'breaks' at weekends sometimes just to let his skin breathe!)

The casting is no biggy..a few mins cases in thin plaster bandages then hey presto a couple of weeks later , nice new splints:) Usually the child can pick the pattern or design on them:) You break them in gently.. wear for an hour, check for marks etc and build up the wearing time .. a bit of red is fine as long as it goes away after 20 min, blisters mean they need adjusting! Long socks underneath are essential as splints go quite high up the calves to a couple of inches below the knee and they can be sweaty!

Hope that helps:)

Ds has been wearing afos to for last 18 months and can remember the shock of being told he needed them and did realise that they shout yes I'm disabled in a very obvious way

I'm fortunate that he took to wearing his straight away and ge now just puts them on every morning without thinking

Though sadly means if your ds is wearing just one your need be buying 2 pairs of shoes

We buy cheap trainers or walking boots and just take the inersoles out to give more room

My 3yo has been in them for the last 6 months, he likes to show his off when people ask. He also only has one on his left leg,he has never been at all bothered by wearing it. Definitely echo making sure you get long socks that can flip over the top of the splint.

So far I have not needed to buy two pairs of shoes but that may be because Ds has an insole (FFO) for his right foot. The main issue I find is getting shoes that are wide enough to get over the splint - Next has been good for trainers with velcro fastening.

The AFO is rigid (can sometimes be hinged) and will hold his foot in 'neutral' which means foot flat, in the same position as when we stand. It is open at the front and has two velcro straps one that goes around the front of the ankle and one higher up over the shin.

Hope all goes well.

They don't suit every child with cp. My daughter wore them for a couple of years but they actually made her walking worse. She ended up having an operation which has greatly improved her walking and she now wears a silicone splint (SAFO).

My dd (7) has boots - not Piedro's now, as hospital has changed supplier, and DAFO's. These are shorter than the AFO's and enclose her feet.

They have improved her stability, but she does need recasting quite often when her feet grow. She needs about a size 4 or 5 shoe normally (yes, she has huge feet!) and a 6 for the DAFO's.