There was a time when a person who suffered a major injury to a leg or was born with a birth defect that caused them to lose the use of a one or both legs would consigned to a life with either crutches or in a wheel chair. As medical knowledge advanced a leg brace was created that while extremely restrictive and for the most part very comfortable, still gave some patients the ability to stand and move around is some semblance of walking. While not the most advanced leg brace at least these devices gave the user a chance to regain some of the freedom lost due to their immobility. For the most part these braces were simple metal frames that had leather straps and held the leg straight, stiff and immobile. To walk the patient basically had to swing the leg that was in the brace forward in a shuffling type step, which gave them back some semblance of mobility but was known to be very painful and put enormous stress on their hip joints. As the technology advanced the leg brace became pivoted at the knee to help give the patient more flexibility as long as their injury or medical problem did not prevent using this type of brace.

Yet the motions were still somewhat clumsy and put a tremendous amount of stress and strain on both the hips joints and the other leg in order for the patient to be able to walk. Television shows like the "Bionic Man" teased those who used braces to walk with promises of things to come. They saw a man whose legs were all but destroyed fitted with electronics and mechanical parts that not only allowed him to walk again but made him far better than he was before. Today we may not have internal bionics but the most advanced leg brace makes use of similar "bionic" technology to create a brace that allows a patient to walk with a far more natural stride than ever before. The new advanced leg brace features an electronic knee joint that uses sensors and a built in microprocessor to create a "smart" joint. This system accurately monitors the position of the leg while the patient is walking; this allows the knee joint to flex when the leg is swinging and then lock in place as the patient is putting his weight on it.

This provides the patient with the most natural gait possible to date while using a leg brace. This new advanced leg brace add a level of stability, and functionality never seen before in any other leg brace. The "brain" is capable of learning as the patient walks and is able to calibrate itself to provide much better stability and balance with every step the patient takes. If you or a loved one is has to rely on a leg brace for mobility it is time you checked out Ability PO to see what they can do for you. They are now fitting more patients than ever with the most advanced leg braces available.