Mobility experiences of adult lower limb orthosis users: a focus group study.

The current study findings may assist clinicians in developing strategies to optimize orthosis users' mobility in different situations. Experiences described by participants in this study may also help researchers identify aspects of mobility most pertinent to orthosis users and inform the development of new outcome measures.Implications for RehabilitationPeople who use lower-limb orthoses share common mobility experiences, despite differences in health diagnoses.Orthosis users often have opportunities to modify their mobility by choosing to use or not use their brace(s) and/or handheld mobility aids.When providing mobility aid interventions, clinicians should consider how each patient's individual characteristics, including physical characteristics (e.g., the health condition and how it presents, pain, fatigue) and psychosocial characteristics (e.g., fear and confidence, self-motivation, emotional responses), can affect mobility.Clinicians may be able to help patients optimize their mobility by asking about environmental obstacles they regularly encounter and recommending strategies for utilization of mobility aids, including simultaneous use of multiple aids, use of one aid, or choosing not to use any aids, depending on the activity and situation.Clinicians should inquire about all mobility aids available to a patient at home and in the community, including fixed objects, and consider how new mobility aid interventions might affect the patient's mobility when used alone and in combination with other forms of assistance.