Hello, I just wanted to know if it is possible for someone have to wear a leg brace (KAFO -- From the knee to the toe) on either the right or left leg for the rest of their lives due to an injury that weakened the knee. Please and Thank You.
First, I'm not a medical practitioner of any sort. In this day of knee replacement surgery (my mother-in-law had both done) leg braces will no longer be permanent. I also have a friend (Nick) whose fibula was completely shattered by a horse who was spooked after getting a hoof caught in Nick's boot and dragging him several hundred feet across a field. After reassembling his fibula (which took many hours) they screwed the pieces of bone to a hunk of nickel to keep everything in place and after a couple of years, he was walking normally again, no braces or any other aides. Eighteen years after his accident, he had the hunk of nickel removed because he was convinced it was affecting his health... and I don't know if that was true or not, but he recovered from the second operation in a few weeks, walking normally once again. So, the only thing I can think of that might necessitate lifelong leg braces might be polio or some other disfiguring disease... muscular dystrophy maybe? Bottom line: Research into diseases that disfigure one's legs might be your best bet.
I've actually found a decent answer to my problem (Your answer helped as well)...thanks for responding so quickly.