An intriguing article on an ankle foot orthosis (AFO) for running recently appeared in the September, 2009, issue of Prosthetics and Orthotics International. Authors David Bishop, Allan Moore, and Naveen Chandrashekar discuss a novel AFO. The AFO was designed for one of the authors who suffered peroneal nerve damage and as a result developed foot drop. The AFO uses the Tamarack™ Dorsiflexion Assist Flexure Joint. The “Dorsi Assist” from Tamarack provides mechanical dorsiflexion assistance to help dorsiflex the foot. What is particularly interesting about the design is that it eliminates the foot plate of the AFO. According to the authors this design “relies on being tightly tied into the shoe against the foot in order to work.” We’ll provide more information in the future about this new AFO for running. The research was done independently of Tamarack so we are interested to find out more about the design too! If you wish to order a copy of the article, here is a link: Bishop D, Moore A, Chandrashekar N. A new ankle foot orthosis for running. Prosthet Orthot Int. 2009 Sep;33(3):192-7. PMID: 19658009 [PubMed – in process] Keywords: ankle foot orthosis; AFO; foot drop; drop foot; running; athletes; Tamarack™ Dorsiflexion Assist Flexure Joint; peroneal nerve; Dorsi Assist.