Walking boot for diabetic and other patients
View Patent ↗An orthopedic walking boot promotes rapid healing of diabetic foot ulcerations by lowering the maximum peak pressure imposed upon the foot. The walker has a hard unyielding shell which is designed for walking. The shell closely and rigidly supports a mid-sole in a foot-shaped bed. The mid-sole has a foot-shaped cavity with rounded sides adapted to form resilient support for the heel, arch and sides of a foot in addition to the bottom of a foot. A conformable inner-sole is adapted to fit over the foot-shaped cavity in the mid-sole and be compressed in response to foot pressure between the sides and bottom of the foot and the sides and bottom of the foot-shaped cavity in the mid-sole thereby compensating for small differences between the shape of the foot and the shape of the cavity. Weight applied to the foot is transferred to the walking shell by contact between the sides of the foot, arch, and heel and the arch, heel and sides of the foot-shaped cavity as well as the bottom of the cavity thereby decreasing the peak or maximum unit pressure on the plantar surface of the foot. A breathable bootie which wraps the foot and lower leg in a protective “cocoon” is preferably secured to the upper surface of the insole thereby preventing foreign materials from entering the foot cavity.
1. A method of supporting an injured foot, comprising:
providing a walking shell having inner and outer surfaces and one or more upright struts, wherein the outer surface is a walking surface and the inner surface is a foot bed designed to receive and support a mid-sole;
mounting a premolded mid-sole in the foot-bed, the mid-sole having a foot shaped cavity having a bottom surface with upwardly curving sides;
said mid-sole formed of a material having the characteristic of yielding without taking a compression set;
placing a self-molding inner-sole having a foot receiving upper surface and a bottom surface adapted to fit over the upper surface of the mid-sole in a manner that allows the inner-sole to conform itself closely to a foot and fit tightly against the upwardly curving walls of the mid-sole;
placing a foot on the foot receiving upper surface of the self-molding inner-sole over the foot receiving cavity in the mid-sole;
putting weight on the foot, thereby conforming and compressing the self-molding inner-sole closely against the loaded foot between the bottom and sides of the foot and the foot-shaped cavity;
said foot shaped cavity having a width and depth such that in response to foot pressure the peripheral edges of said foot are loaded by said upwardly curving sides of said foot shaped cavity prior to said bottom of said foot shaped cavity loading the bottom of said foot; and
securing a lower leg to said one or more upright struts after said inner-sole is compression molded.
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of protecting the foot from hard foreign particles by surrounding the lower leg and foot with a durable and resilient soft protective bootie, said bootie having an open bottom that is secured to a flange around said foot receiving upper surface on said inner-sole.
3. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of securing the ankle in slight dorsiflexion thereby further reducing the peak pressure on the hind foot.
4. The method of claim 3 wherein said slight dorsiflexion is created by angling said lower leg forward slightly before securing said lower leg to said one or more upright struts.
5. The method of claim 3 wherein said slight dorsiflexion is created by adjusting the angle of said one or more upright struts and said walking shell to angle said upright strut backward prior to securing said lower leg in alignment with said one or more upright struts.
6. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of securing the ankle in slight plantarflexion, thereby further reducing the peak pressure on the fore foot.
7. The method of claim 6 wherein said slight plantarflexion is created by angling said lower leg backward slightly before securing said lower leg to said one or more upright struts.
8. The method of claim 6 wherein said slight plantarflexion is created by adjusting the angle of said one or more upright struts and said walking shell to angle said upright strut forward prior to securing said lower leg in alignment with said one or more upright struts.