Orthosis & Bracing in Vellore

An orthosis is an external device that supports, aligns, protects or improves the function of a moving body part. Common examples are AFOs (ankle-foot orthoses) for foot drop, functional knee braces for osteoarthritis, TLSOs (thoraco-lumbo-sacral braces) for scoliosis or vertebral fractures, and thermoplastic splints for the hand and wrist.

Good orthotic care is not just picking a brace from a catalogue. It is a clinical decision that combines gait analysis, joint testing, skin assessment and life demands — and it is followed by weeks of graded wear-in and gait retraining. At our Vellore clinic we do all three: prescription, fitting-day support with your orthotist, and the rehabilitation programme around the device.

We work with children with cerebral palsy needing bilateral AFOs, adults after stroke needing dynamic foot-drop orthoses, patients with knee osteoarthritis needing offloader braces, teenagers with idiopathic scoliosis needing a Boston or Milwaukee brace, and workers needing custom hand splints after tendon injuries or CTS surgery.

Vellore's mix of adult neurology cases from CMC, paediatric CP cases from Bagayam and Sathuvachari, and scoliosis screenings from local schools creates a steady demand for well-fitted orthoses. Many families receive a brace but no rehab programme — that gap is exactly what we fill.

We coordinate with orthotists in Vellore and Chennai for custom thermoplastic fabrication, and support Government-hospital-issued devices with private follow-up when family circumstances allow.

Types of lower-limb orthoses: solid AFO, hinged AFO, posterior leaf-spring AFO, dynamic AFO (carbon-fibre), ground-reaction AFO, and KAFO. Choice depends on the underlying weakness, spasticity, foot alignment and community demands.

Types of spinal orthoses: soft collars for symptomatic relief, rigid collars post-cervical surgery, TLSOs for lumbar compression fractures, Boston brace for idiopathic scoliosis, and Milwaukee brace for high thoracic curves.

Custom hand splints we prescribe and support: cock-up splint for CTS, thumb spica for de Quervain's, mallet-finger splint, dynamic finger extension splint post tendon repair. Fabrication is done by hand-therapy-trained clinicians.

Skin surveillance is the single biggest predictor of long-term orthosis success. We teach patients and families a 30-second daily skin check — any redness lasting more than 20 minutes after brace removal is a same-week orthotist visit.

Weaning from an orthosis is a clinical decision, not a wish. Criteria include normalised gait speed, single-leg balance thresholds, strength grades, and functional tests. Weaning too early causes relapses; weaning too late causes disuse weakness.

For scoliosis, evidence supports rigid bracing for curves 25–40° in a growing spine, with a wear-time target of 16–22 hours per day. Our role is to keep adherence high through skin comfort, sport modifications and family support.

For post-stroke AFO users, we run 6-weekly walking-speed reviews and reassess brace need every year. Some patients successfully wean off; others need it lifelong. Both outcomes are valid.

Insurance and cost: government schemes (CMCHIS in Tamil Nadu, ALIMCO for children) subsidise many orthoses. Private insurance covers them under 'medical appliances' with a prescription — we prepare the paperwork so you can claim.