A removable and replaceable hip orthotic that includes a back panel formed from a rigid material that supports a patient's lumbar area; a front panel formed from the rigid material that supports the patient's abdomen area and is hinged to the back panel to allow application and removal of the orthotic to the patient; a leg support that extends from the back support that includes a space that allows a patient's leg to pass through into the leg support; and straps to secure the back panel to the front panel and the leg into the leg support. The back panel includes a pair of windows with a trochanter pad movably disposed within the windows. An adjustment mechanism selectively moves the trochanter pads relative to the greater trochanter regions of the hips of the patient to apply pressure to the hip joint to prevent dislocation of the femoral head.

An injury treatment system includes a negative pressure source and a dressing pneumatically communicable with the negative pressure source. The dressing includes a negative pressure therapy component configured to expose an anatomical structure to a negative pressure when the negative pressure therapy component is applied to the anatomical structure and in response to operation of the negative pressure source. The dressing also includes an immobilization component coupled to the negative pressure therapy system, wherein the immobilization component is configured to transition from a flexible state to an inflexible state in response to the operation of the negative pressure source.

An ankle brace for treating or preventing a high ankle sprain is disclosed. The ankle brace includes a body configured to be worn over an ankle. A tightening mechanism is attached to the body and configured to tighten the body around a wearer's lower leg to prevent distal ends of the tibia and fibula from separating. A torsion strap is attached to the body and configured to wrap from a fifth metatarsal to a medial malleolus to limit external rotation of the foot. The ankle brace can include lateral and medial straps for limiting eversion and inversion of the foot. The ankle brace can include heat moldable lateral and medial support plates.

Some implementations of the described invention relate to systems and methods for applying a total contact cast to a patient for treatment of a wound on an appendage, such as a leg or foot. While the cast system can comprise any suitable component, in some cases, it includes a clam-shell cast, a foot support defining (or customizable to define) an offloading hole, and a cast underlayment (such as a compression sock, a padding sock, and/or additional padding). In some implementations, a first length of the clam-shell cast is applied to a patient's calf, a second length of the cast is applied to across a patient's foot, and a third length is folded up over the patient's foot to extend up a portion of the patient's calf. In some cases, a strap or wing is used to attach the first and the third lengths together. Other implementations are also described.

A stretching platform includes a planar support structure having an upper surface in a substantially horizontal orientation. The planar support structure is configured to support a person lying in a prone position on the planar support structure and facing upward. A hip strap is configured to extend upward from the planar support structure and over hips of the person when the person is lying in the prone position on the planar support structure. A leg lifting mechanism is configured to lift a leg of the person when the person is lying in the prone position on the planar support structure and when hips of the person are secured by the hip strap in a substantially immobile manner relative to the planar support structure. The leg lifting mechanism is configured to apply an upward force to a posterior side of the leg at a location near a foot of the leg.

Devices and methods are provided for fabricating a custom splint for use in an immobilization system. In one aspect, a method for fabricating a splint is provided. The method comprises identifying a region of interest of a limb around which a splint is to be positioned, placing markers about the region of interest on the limb, and scanning the region of interest having the markers to generate data for the splint to be produced.

A method of splinting limbs of a patient by a single person and an elongated splint device, for use in the method. The splint device has a first track member and second and third elongated riding members movably held and positioned on the first track member. The riding members are freely movable on the first track member along a single longitudinal axis to obtain a proper length for splinting and a releasable locking mechanism is included to maintain the selected length. Two or more adjustable belt elements are removably connected to the riding member and serve to affix the splint device to a patient in a proper splinting position.

An inventive ankle-foot orthosis which transfers a portion of a wearer's weight normally applied to a wearer's foot and ankle to a wearer's calf thereby removing weight bearing stress from the wearer's foot and ankle.

A process for treating femoral fractures in children includes diagnosing a patient with a femoral shaft fracture and enclosing the affected limb in a splint. The process further includes scanning the unaffected limb with a three-dimensional scanner and obtaining measurements of the unaffected limb that may be used to form a brace for the affected limb. In addition, the process includes fabricating an orthosis to support the affected limb based on the scan and measurements taken of the unaffected limb, and applying the orthosis to the affected limb.

Composite fiber reinforced orthoses are described with respect to fiber orientation of layers making up the laminate and with respect to load to strength ratios, safety zones, loading zones and relationships between these zones. Orthoses involved are such as ankle-foot orthoses, which include the subset of knee ankle-foot orthoses.