The orthotic ambulation performance of paraplegic myelomeningocele children using the ORLAU ParaWalker treatment system

Abstract

The ORLAU ParaWalker has been established since 1983 as a routine clinical treatment to enable paraplegic patients to ambulate. During its development as an orthotic device, a review of 27 spina bifida patients showed that it produced significant improvements in Hoffer's Classification of handicapped gait in comparison with their performance in conventional orthoses. Following an additional period of development, during which the philosophy was evolved of making the device part of a treatment system, a further review of patients routinely supplied by ORLAU was conducted. This shows that the performance of patients has significantly improved, with 34% of children using the ParaWalker now achieving community status as compared with 7% in the earlier study. This improvement is attributed to the introduction of a treatment system which includes training regimes and regular follow-up of patients as well as better engineering specification.