Orthopedic walking brace having a curved sole
Described herein are systems and devices for providing an orthopedic walking brace having a housing and a sole with a curved distal surface. The housing is configured to encompass and immobilize a patient's ankle against flexion. The distal surface of the sole has a posterior region, a mid region, and an anterior region. The posterior region is configured to lie under a heel portion of the patient's foot, and the mid region is configured to lie under a center portion of the patient's foot. The anterior region is configured to lie under an anterior metatarsal and toe portion of the patient's foot, and has an Anterior-Posterior curvature that increases from a posterior side of the anterior region toward a middle portion of the anterior region and decreases from the middle portion toward an anterior side of the anterior region.
1. An orthopedic walking brace, comprising:
a housing configured to encompass and immobilize a patient's ankle against flexion, and a sole having a proximal surface and a distal surface, the proximal surface configured to receive the patient's foot, and the distal surface having a posterior region, a mid region, and an anterior region, wherein
the posterior region is configured to lie under a heel portion of the patient's foot, and has a first anterior-posterior (AP) curvature,
the mid region is configured to lie under a center portion of the patient's foot, and has a second AP curvature, and
the anterior region is configured to lie under an anterior metatarsal and toe portion of the patient's foot, and has a third AP curvature that increases from a posterior side of the anterior region toward a middle portion of the anterior region and decreases from the middle portion toward an anterior side of the anterior region.
2. The orthopedic walking brace of claim 1 , wherein the anterior region comprises about 35% of the AP length of the distal surface.
3. The orthopedic walking brace of claim 1 , wherein the mid region comprises about 40% of the AP length of the distal surface.
4. The orthopedic walking brace claim 1 , wherein the mid region lies directly beneath the midfoot.
5. The orthopedic walking brace of claim 1 , wherein the third AP curvature has a maximum value greater than about 0.100 inch −1 .
6. The orthopedic walking brace of claim 1 , wherein a product of the AP length of the anterior region and a maximum of the third AP curvature is greater than about 0.35.
7. The orthopedic walking brace of claim 1 , wherein the second AP curvature has a maximum value less than about 0.030 inch −1 .
8. The orthopedic walking brace of claim 1 , wherein a product of the AP length of the mid region and a maximum value of the second AP curvature has a maximum value less than about 0.15.
9. The orthopedic walking brace of claim 1 , wherein the first AP curvature increases from a posterior side of the posterior region toward a middle portion of the posterior region and decreases from the middle portion toward an anterior side of the posterior region.
10. The orthopedic walking brace of claim 9 , wherein the first AP curvature has a maximum value less than about 0.25 inch −1 .
11. The orthopedic walking brace of claim 9 , wherein a product of the AP length of the posterior region and a maximum value of the first AP curvature has a maximum value less than about 0.7.
12. The orthopedic walking brace of claim 1 , wherein the distal surface has a first medial-lateral (ML) curvature that has a first peak adjacent to a medial edge and a second peak adjacent to a lateral edge of the distal surface, and is substantially flat in between the first and the second peaks.
13. The orthopedic walking brace of claim 1 , wherein the distal surface is symmetric.
14. The orthopedic walking brace of claim 1 , wherein the proximal surface is rigid, and the distal surface is flexible, and wherein the distal surface comprises a first material having a first density, and a second material having a second density, wherein the second density is smaller than the first density.
15. The orthopedic walking brace of claim 14 , wherein the proximal surface is formed of a plastic material.
16. The orthopedic walking brace of claim 14 , wherein the first material is rubber.
17. The orthopedic walking brace of claim 14 , wherein the second material is EVA.
18. The orthopedic walking brace of claim 1 , wherein a distance between the highest point on the distal surface and a ground surface defines a thickness and a maximum value of the thickness is about 0.75 inches.