By Martha Kerr

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - For people who have suffered a stroke, bracing or splinting the ankle and foot can help them regain balance and mobility, according to British researchers.

In a press release, Dr. Sarah F. Tyson notes that physiotherapists have been reluctant to prescribe lower limb splints for stroke patients. However, she adds, "Views have been slowly shifting in the last few years."

Tyson, at the University of Salford, and Dr. Ruth M. Kent of the University of Leeds identified 14 clinical trials that compared post-stroke use of a splint or brace plus normal management with normal management alone. The devices, technically referred to as orthoses, are designed to keep joints properly aligned.

The team found that the "overall effect of lower limb orthoses on walking disability (speed), walking impairment (step/stride length) and balance impairment (weight distribution in standing) was significant and beneficial."

The studies all looked only at the short-term, immediate effects of orthotic devices. The long-term effects -- good or bad -- are unknown.

Even so, Tyson told Reuters Health, "I would use an ankle-foot orthotic and I would not limit it to a specific time period at this point. I would use it for as long as (the patient) had a problem."

SOURCE: Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Issue 1, January 21, 2009.

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