Alan can stand unaided but tends to lose his balance when reaching for objects and has active movement in his hip and knee but his leg is generally weak. He has flickers of movement at his ankle but is unable to pull his foot up. When walking Alan presents with a dropped foot. This means that he can’t lift his foot clear of the ground when swinging his leg through and is at risk of falling. Additionally when standing on his leg his knee tends to flick back into hyperextension (sudden uncontrollable straightening of the knee beyond normal – see photograph below) which could cause long term damage to his knee joint. Alan has been provided with a custom made ankle foot orthosis (AFO) to help with these issues and is currently walking in therapy with the help of a therapist.
Photograph showing a hyperextended knee
Alan approaches you and says that he wishes to walk on the ward. How should you manage this?
Page last reviewed: 22 Apr 2021
