Better Brace

Metal leg braces are all too familiar to the victims of such disorders as muscular dystrophy or polio. The double-bar braces are heavy and clumsy, with a stirrup under the instep, and they induce muscle atrophy by permitting the foot to move only up and down. In normal walking, the body's weight tends to throw the heel of each foot alternately either outward or inward, depending on the terrain, but such movement is prevented by the conventional brace.

A lightweight, one-sided brace that allows far more freedom of movement and more natural walking has now been introduced at the University of California Medical Center in San Francisco. The new device is bound to the leg by the familiar calf band of reinforced leather; an aluminum bar runs down the outside of the leg. At the ankle, it is hinged to a semicircular metal yoke that fits loosely around the heel of the shoe. This first hinge-type joint permits up-and-down motion. On the yoke behind the heel is a second joint bearing a metal pin that is screwed into the heel of the shoe. This permits sidewise motion.

The Biomechanics Laboratory at U.C., which was supported by the Easter Seal Society in developing the device, demonstrated the flexibility of the brace by trying it out on Patient Julie Bywater of Mill Valley, Calif. For most of her ten years, Julie has suffered from paralysis of the leg muscles, the cause of which is uncertain. A conventional two-sided brace enabled Julie to walk, but she could scarcely run. She often refused to wear it. It was heavy and "hurt too much." Now Julie proudly demonstrates her prowess on stairs, and runs so well she plays baseball.

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