My 2 yr old daughter Reece is a T-11 incomplete..She wears AFO's of course and we are having serious problems...It started last October when she got a new pair of AFO's..she only had them for like a month and she developed pressure sores on her heels..Well, ok so we had new ones made that we got in Feb. { She had surgery on her heels and was in casts..thats the reason for the time gap } So anyways so got these new ones in Feb. and we had them for like a little over a month and again she developed pressure sores...So we had new ones made again and we JUST picked them up last week and AGAIN she now has pressure sores on both heels..This is really upsetting...every time this happens that means she can't wear anything on her feet..which means she can't wear her RGO
's which are so important to her recovery b/c she walks in them and each time she goes without wearing the RGO's makes it that much harder to get her back in them b/c she decides crawling is easier { but again she's just 2 } Anyway, the guy who does our bracing {Thomas} is really good and he said he made the holes in the backs of her braces bigger so that she would not have the pressure built up but that didn't work and we have not had this problem before and Thomas has been doing her bracing since she was 4 months old.. I hope somebody may have had this issue before and can tell me what I need to do to stop this from happening...Thanks a bunch
Tiffany
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Please somebody tell me what to do!!!!!!!
- By tiffanyseal
- Posted May 21, 2008 at 9:57 am · 7 replies
- In New paralysis/rehabilitation
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- Edited May 21, 2008 at 10:05 am
7 replies
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- By HBRW121
- Posted May 22, 2008 at 9:49 pm
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It's just a thought . . have you tried a Toe Off Brace it runs on the side of the foot instead of the back.
- By Patricia7
- Posted May 23, 2008 at 3:41 am
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I am so sorry to hear of Reece having problems with her foot and pressure sores. I was always told to watch for any pressure areas after about 20 minutes of wear and to see if it takes more than 20 minutes to clear any reddend area before it becomes a sore. I think with any new shoe , bracing or inserts it will be something that could be a potential for break down to happen. Also perhaps her gait is altered with the bracing and she is putting more strain and pressure to maintain balance on different areas than before. Again, I am sure I haven't told you anything the physical therapist has not already mentioned. I wish you all the best. Patricia
- By Elysse_AZ
- Posted May 23, 2008 at 1:39 pm
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I wore long leg braces for the first 20 years of my life. When I was in younger, I had problems with that. I think it only happened once or twice. Try padding the area. Also see if there is actually movement as opposed to pressure. Friction (shearing) can cause the same kind of wounds.
- By horsestail
- Posted May 27, 2008 at 9:47 am
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Tiffany,
As a mom I know this is heartbreaking seeing your little one suffer with these pressure sores. I had an SCI member tell our group about heelbos that help prevent pressure sores. I did a quick search and I didn't see them for children, but maybe Thomas maybe able to find them. Here is a description from one site. "Heelbo pads feature the best in decubitis protection with a comfortable, snug fit. Designed to help maintain skin integrity and help prevent decubitus ulcers by reducing pressure, shearing and friction on the heel and/or elbow. Heelbo Premium heel and elbow protector contains a unique viscoelastic polymer pack to reduce pressure. The polymer pack has memory resulting in up to 38% reduction in pressure. Five color-coded sizes available. To size, measure limb circumference. Latex free"
I hope this is helpful. Maybe writing to one of the companies that makes them could result in some being made for her size if none are available. I wish you the best.
Gloria
- By Learning1
- Posted July 13, 2009 at 3:57 pm
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I don't know if your granddaugher is still having problems with pressure sores.
If she is, you may want to read the string of posts on Pressure Wounds for ideas and tips for things to try to help overcome them, and to help speed healing.
There are some traditional type ideas which may help. And there are some non-traditional, more leading edge ones, which may also help - things like Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) and magnetic pulse therapy seem to help substantially.
Magnetic pulse therapy has been around and used since the 1930's, starting with the Magnapulse. And low level lasers have been used for treating similar skin type wounds since 1964 (see: http://www.sunetics.com.au/lasertherapy_history.htm ), and when laser diodes came out in the 1970's, they were rapidly accepted for use on wounds with animals. Over time acceptance with humans has increased.
- By Globalwoundcare
- Posted July 14, 2009 at 9:10 am
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I like low light laser and have used it in my practice. I think the problem I am understanding is not one of healing, but more of the "keep coming back". I like the idea of padding the heel. there are a lot of products out there. I would try something simple and cheap first, like "mole skin". It just sticks to the area of irritation and prevents rubbing.
The goal in wound care is always foremost-prevention!
- By Learning1
- Posted July 14, 2009 at 4:10 pm
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Globalwoundcare,
You're right - prevention is foremost, and the simplest and cheapest, if they work, are the best.
Lasers, and pulsed magnetic, seem to be things to consider if the simpler solutions don't work first.
And avoiding the "keep coming back" side is always a challenge. If preventative actions can reduce the frequency of the problems, the challenge then is to make treatment as easy and inexpensive as possible.
The problem with any of the forms of electronic medicine (laser, scenar / cosmodic, and pulsed magnetic) is that they often get the best results if they are used frequently at least initially (often at least twice a day, with some problems and methods used three or four times per day), with treatment times that are not very long (10 or 15 minutes per time even with lower power units, sometimes as short as 5 minutes or so an area) until recovery is achieved. For that frequency, of treatment, it sounds like it is probably best if the person can do their own treatment at home, and for that it takes cost effective equipment, rather than the larger, more expensive units the research is done with.
Along with this is the question of what the most cost effective and flexible option is. Each device or method has its advocates, and each seems to work to some degrees for most wound care situations. Because of limited finances, if a home unit is looked at, the question becomes which one is most cost effective - which will work with the most problems, or give the greatest results.
For example, even some light frequencies, without laser, have helped wound healing (see: http://www.warp-heals.com/; http://www.bioptron.eu/; http://www.sotainstruments.com/products_lightworks.asp), but one of the comments I heard is that laser, because of the congruent light, often helps more. For basic problems the results like the initial studies on the WARP and the Bioptron lights look encouraging. But as Luminita has commented, progress with a Bioptron light with her bed sores was still slow, and it sounds like even a simple pulser like the Sota one has produced a lot more in results.
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