Hi Daniel

I had to have AFO’s. They were plastic ones that went from my toes to just behind my knees and I secured them with two velcro fasteners at the front. I had major foot drop and when I was given them it was at the point that I was starting to initiate walking on my own with supervision with the parallel bars and later when I was on my crutches. My Consultant gave them to me for two reasons, firstly, they were good in that they enabled me to concentrate on trying to walk as normally as possible to get my legs and muscles working properly again and not worry about falling and tripping over and, secondly, to get my feet back into the position they should be so the nerves and muscles would hopefully trigger that’s where my foot position should be. They really help boost your overall confidence in your ability and as Linda pointed out good for stability and control. In the end I was walking around with my A.F.O’s without any other aids so under your jeans or sweatpants you can’t actually tell you’ve got anything on so it’s nice to get out and about in the real world and feel as normal as you can be at that stage of your recovery. End result, my foot drop improved to the point that I could ditch them and I haven’t had to go back to them since. Good luck with yours and I hope this helps you in some way. Keep smiling, tomorrow’s another day 🙂