I would like to show you some of the braces I wear on a daily bases to help support my joints, unfortunately it doesn't always stop them from dislocating but it does tend to help me when pain when my joints feel more stable.
These are the supports/braces I am going to talk about today. Different things work for different people, so just because this is what works for me, it doesn't always mean they will work for someone else.
So I will start off with my Lycra suit
This was specifically made to my exact size. It is a Sensory Dynamic Orthosis. This helps hold me together as much as possible and helps me be more aware of my joints in space due to lack of proprireception (not sure if I spelt it right but I will do a separate post on this).
The top half of the suit has reinforcements across the top of the back and shoulders, helping to keep my shoulders in there rightful place, the bottom half of the suit comes from the waist right down to the mid calf. They have reinforcements in the hip area and knee area, again to help keep my joints in there rightful place. The Lycra is skin tight and can become very warm on hot days, but is great as support and an extra layer in winter!
Next are my ankle braces.
My ankles tend to roll very often when I am walking and overall feel really weak. These braces help to stabilise them and prevent them rolling too often. They are surprisingly lightweight and breatheable. They also fit nicely in your normal shoe size as they are not at all bulky.
Next are my knee braces...
I have tried many knee braces and they have failed to do what I need them to do.
My knees are very hypermobile and tend to hyper extend a lot. My patella dislocated and subluxates many times during the day.
They do give me a great deal of support but they do not stop my knees from hyper extending. These are patella stabilisation braces so have extra support around the patella to help prevent it from dislocating.
What I don't like about these braces is that they have to be pulled on. This hurts and sometimes dislocated my shoulders and even my knee in the process.
The positive is that they are very lightweight and not bulky so can be worn under clothing easily.
Next are my wrist and thumb braces...
These a two different kinds of braces.
The black ones immobilise the thumb and are to help prevent dislocation and the nude colour ones have a thermo plastic insert that has been moulded to the shape of my thumb and these are worn after a dislocation to help support and protect the area. These braces I wear a lot and they have served there purpose as much as possible.
I also have this, a thumb spica. My right thumb tends to dislocate more as I am right handed and I have to wear this when I have had multiple dislocations to fully immobilise my thumb.
Next are my finger splints also known as O8's and my index finger splint.
The O8's help support the finger joints and prevent dislocations. I have found these great and will be thinking about having some made in sterling silver :)
The thing next to it is my index finger splint, and some self adhesive tape. The tape holds a thermo plastic splint over the top half of my index finger to stop it hyper extending when writing.
Next are my resting splints.
And lastly is my shoulder brace...
I am not a fan of this brace at all. I personally find it very bulky and uncomfortable. It can be used to help support the shoulder and prevent dislocations.
All of my braces have been made and supplied by the orthotics department.
I hope you all found this useful, if you have any questions then please feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer :)
How do you get referred to orthotics? My gp hasn't heard of them.
ReplyDeleteI was referred to orthotics by my rheumatologist x
Delete