Potter Podiatry offer a range of assistive technology (AT) to assist children to reach their gross motor skill goals & enable participation.
SMOs can help children with Hypotonia (Low Muscle Tone) & Hypermobility (Ligament Laxity/ joint instability)
Supra-Malleolar Orthoses (SMOs)
Supra-Malleolar Orthoses (above ankle supports) can be of use when a child has Hyptonia (low muscle tone) & or Joint Hypermobility. This may include children with Heritable Disorders of Connective Tissue (HDCTs) such as Marfan’s Syndrome, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome or other genetic conditions such as Down Syndrome.
Hypotonia & Hypermobility can increase the amount of energy required for a child to move as well as cause delayed milestones, pain & fatigue. Our brain’s reference our posture & creates movement patterns from the information received from our base of support (our feet). When feet are very unstable, compensatory patterns may develop & children can struggle to walk, run, hop & play as they wish.
SMOs work by putting an unstable foot in the position it should be, this allows the important small (intrinsic) muscles of the feet to develop their normal proprioceptive functions, providing important information to the core & movement control centre of the brain. This can improve control further up the limb, in the knee, hip & spine of the child.
Early intervention can optimise your child’s long term movement. We work closely with Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists & Paediatricians to provide the support children need promptly & to the highest standards.
Who can benefit from Supra-Malleolar Orthoses (SMOs)?
Children with:
- Hyptonia (low tone)
- Hypermobility (ligament laxity/ collagenopathy)
- Global Developmental Delay
- Co-ordination &/ or balance problems
- Delayed gross motor skill milestones
- Inability to stand independently
- Delayed walking (beyond 17 months)
- Mild toe walking
- Instability when weight bearing/ recurrent tripping
Toe walking SMO
Indications that this product may help your child
- Toe walking
- Pronation
- Hypotonia
- Sensory deficits
AFO
Indications that this product may help your child
- Pronation
- Supination
- Hypotonia
- Hypertonia
2 Stage AFO
Dynamic AFO/SMO that provides
triplanar stability without
restricting usage of intrinsic
musculature of the foot
Indications that this product will help your child
- Hypotonia
- Hypertonia
- Flexible pronation or supination
- Poor proprioceptive awareness
- Difficulty with transitional skills
- Sagittal and/or frontal plane weakness
Appointments can be booked online here