You just wouldn’t believe what problems people enounter in an effort to find a decent calliper

 For many women who wear orthopaedic appliances fashionable clothing is not a primary consideration. Theirs is a much more fundamental requirement. Quite understandable, for someone who relies on their hardware for day to day mobility, choosing a stylish outfit comes way below achieving comfort and reliability.

It is both surprising and disappointing that in this age of advanced technology when sophisticated design encompasses all spheres of life, the humble walking calliper, for many, remains a primitive relic of antiquity. With the exception of various forms of knee lock, the design has undergone only ‘tinkering’ changes within the last fifty years. Even the moulded cosmetic calliper does little to enhance the appearance of women who like to ‘look good’. These, often crudely made, specimens lack ‘artistic’ colour matching, add perspiratory discomfort and are frequently poorly fitted. It really is unacceptable that today’s women are denied appliances of more tasteful styling so as to enable them, if they so wish, to choose from a wider range of clothing styles.

During the period of hosting this site I have received mail from women who are grieved by design features relating to the appliances they wear. Is it merely coincidence or food-for-thought that they are all British? This is what they have to say (Identities have been disguised):

My caliper provides me with a sense of security and has kept me mobile since I was 3 years old, 18 months after contracting polio. That is all the good I can say about it.

It is extremely heavy and if you have to wear two I should think it is horrible. Although I stopped growing many years ago mine is still fitted with lengthening adjusters. But for someone who is still growing it wouldn’t be very practical unless they grow 1 inch at a time. Screws have a knack of falling out, knee joint especially. The hospital have got over this problem by knocking them flat on the inside and in doing so made the joint so it doesn’t bend properly. The leather rubs something horrible, especially the corset top (there is a ring as you will know but this is twice as bad and extremely bulky). In the summer when we have warm days I’m usually padded out nicely with plasters to try and overcome this. A lot of things depend on the weather and wet and damp weather makes the metal go rusty and the knee joints consequently develop a squeak.

The caliper is so heavy that it drags my foot out of my shoe. My foot turns outwards making this worse. I used to have a T- strap but having to fasten it so tightly resticted the blood and made my foot go numb.

Bulky and sharp knee joints ruin trousers. After a while the moveable pieces of the joint become loos, fly up and I’m likely to end up on the floor.

Cosmetically I suggest it’s vile, bulky, awkward and unsightly. It’s painted BLACK and after a while the paint scratches and chips making it look ever so scruffy. The leather becomes dirty and stretches giving a sloppy look.

My shoes are also very heavy. I have recently been made a lighter pair but they are no where near as strong and I go through them as if they are made of paper. I wear a built-up shoe. Surely if they measure correctly this should even me up. I stand to be corrected. My shoes are like rocks to walk on, hard as nails

TJ Lancashire

I am 41 and had polio at the age of 18 months. It affected my right leg. I first started wearing a caliper around the age of 7 or 8 or may have been younger. I firstly started with one which went to the knee, all metal, and went into a shoe that was specially made. I then started wearing a complete leg caliper, going into the shoe and having a knee support. I think I was about 15 years old when they brought out the new cosmetic caliper. When I was first fitted with it I was over the moon. No more unsightly metal and it meant that I could wear my own shoes. However as I have grown older and less moblie I don’t find it as comfortable any more. They used to make it so I had to slip my leg straight through from the top to the foot. That was fine until we get hot weather, leg swells, can'’ remove it. I used to have to struggle for ages to get it off. So they started to put velcro on the top like the knee strap, so it enabled me to get my leg out or make it as wide as possible for comfort. However my clothes are now always like bits of rag from being caught on the velcro. I have found I have to wear four pieces of stocking bandage on my leg, 1 on the foot as it sweats and gets sore. I have a pieces of chiropody felt under the knee support so it doesn’t ruin my tights and clothing. On the top of the caliper I have to put a piece of felt at the back to stop it digging into my flesh. I have a piece of bandage over the velcro straps to protect my clothing. Also I have to wear a stocking because my leg rubs on the metal and makes it sore. All this takes a long time to do. I look more like an advert for space oddity than a human being.

The knee support soon gets shabby and it doesn’t smell very pleasant either. I find also that if I don’t quite put the knee locks down when standing I go flying as it lets me down. It also makes a very loud click when it locks and can be quite embarrassing at times.

I wish they could come up with something more appropriate. I know it’s supposed to be flesh coloured, but who’s flesh have they modelled it on? I thing the caliper is a real pain in the summer, for women and young girls in particular. When everyone is out and about wearing shorts and skimpy skirts we are left wearing skirts below our knees because it’s so ugly.

I think if they were to ask people who wear calipers to come up with an idea they could do better than this.

BJ Bedfordshire

I wore a below the knee caliper on the left leg and a full length caliper on the right leg from the age of two to seven and I also wore surgical boots. Fortunately after two operations I no longer had to wear the calipers and could manage with a polythene splint on the right leg which I found most acceptable as it was light and virtually unnoticeable when worn with an elastic stocking. I also found I could wear ordinary shoes.

Unfortunately at the age of 24 I had to revert back to wearing a full length caliper on my right leg. The design had slightly improved as I was given a cosmetic caliper which meant I could still sear ordinary shoes. Although my mobility improved greatly I found it was very heavy and cumbersome and most uncomfortable in warm weather. It took the manufacturers over nine months to get the thing to fit properly. That caliper last me approximately six years but when it needed replacing due to metal fatigue I was twelve months waiting for a replacement because of the inability of appliance firms to actually make calipers that fit correctly. I am now 47 and have been having a new caliper made for over two years and it still doesn’t fit properly. I have given up hope of my present fitter ever getting it right and am in the process of finding another firm. Although I feel the cosmetic appearance and weight of calipers could be improved my major complain is against the people who make them. Until their standard of service is improved greatly we have no chance of ever improving the harware.

Although my caliper is satisfactory in enabling me to walk I feel its appearance could be improved. The plastic foot part is good as it enables me to wear ordinary shoes. The problem comes when you come to the side irons which are quite thick and I feel they could be attached more discreetly as they are just riveted to the outside of the plastic leg part and protrude quite a lot. Also the leather knee cap is bulky as I have five buckles on it which tend to ladder tights and the knee locks also protrude a lot. The top part is weight bearing and has steel rims which tend to make it very heavy. It is covered in leather which makes my leg sweat and causes soreness. My right leg is very thin so with the caliper on it doesn’t look much larger than my left leg. Anyone with a equal legs would not be able to wear a cosmetic caliper satisfactorily because they make the leg look much wider.

Would it not be possible to make a caliper more on the lines of an artificial leg rather than have side irons and leather knee caps?

MP Merseyside 

I am 48 and was disabled by polio at age 3. I wear two full calipers, ordinary shoes and a support for a weak back. I have elbow crutches for around the house and a wheelchair for general out of doors mobility.

My comments on my callipers are the great difficulty in getting new pairs to fit properly. The bucket tops are made by plaster casts which have a hit and miss effect on fitting. The finished result always limits mobility, there is considerable pain and it’s a much dreaded event. My present pair are somewhat elderly and I am present putting off trying out my spare pair.

Apart from ill-fitting tops, I suffer from breaking leather knee straps. I wear different design knee pads. One is the wrap-round type (that’s better) and the other is a conventional square over the knee, this one is the main weight bearer.

Side irons are often too wide for the pins to fit shoes. The sockets in new shoes are frequently the wrong size. The back-stops on the sockets are always too upright, thus forcing my foot out of my shoe if I stand upright.

Knee locks become very stiff and it is tiring having to force them safely closed.

I would love to be able to wear more stylish clothes but as you will appreciate it is hardly a priority for me.

BAC Nottinhamshire 

What a brilliant web site.

I had polio when I was three and wear calipers on both legs. Has anyone else ever complained about the discomfort they cause and the havoc they play with clothing? I experience chafing at the top and consequently great discomfort. One of my main problems is that my calipers hack my skirts to bits because of the motion between them and hard seating. Most of my clothes look like they have been attacked by a mad axe man. I don’t really care what they look like as long as they’re comfortable and don’t destroy my clothing.

SEJ Cumbria

I contracted polio and the age of five since when I have been wearing a full support caliper on the left leg and walk with the aid of sticks.

At first my caliper was supplied by a Childrens hospital and the fitter there was wonderful. I was always breaking the caliper somewhere, usually the spurs but also the side metals or straps. My father had access to a blacksmiths shop and was able to repair them and either adapted my shoes himself or supplied the sockets for the firm which did.

At the age of 15 I encountered great problems in obtaining a caliper to fit. The workmanship of that appliance left a lot to be desired. My father had to repair it quite early in its life. I also had no spare.

At the age of 18 I went to Leicester University and having found a good firm to adapt/fit my shoe I requested a new caliper from them. Though heavy, that caliper lasted for years. It was the first where the spurs were braised in. I don’t know whether they all should have been, but it was certainly the solution to constantly breaking spurs. I was still wearing that caliper in the early seventies when I read about the cosmetic caliper.

I attempted to acquire a cosmetic caliper from a London firm, but hit a learner who did not take the plaster cast properly, or adequate advice. That was a flop. I them attempted to obtain one from a firm recommended to me. That was also an unmitigated disaster. The company was in its infancy at the time and would not make a support bucket. By then the leatherwork of my caliper was badly in need of repair and they made a terrible job of it.

I switched to Remploy. That firm was also unable to make a caliper to fit. I drove up to their factory in Chesterfield and demonstrated to the manager there that it was not satisfactory. The end result was a rough approximation to a fit which weighed a ton. The straps broke on the first wearing and I complained. I was informed that I was the first customer ever to complain about a caliper – that polio’s were difficult etc. etc.

I was in serious danger of ending up in a wheelchair. I then read about a new German (Otto Bock) knee joint which was not available on the NHS. Knowing that I would be an unwelcome customer if thought to be ‘difficult’ I used my desire for the German knee joint as an ‘excuse’ and found myself a firm to make me a caliper privately.

A fitter from a company in Birmingham made me a wonderfully fitting caliper including the German knee joint. Compared to the price of spectacles it was not all that expensive. There followed a blissful 10 – 12 years during which I built myself up a stock of spare calipers and had some elbow cruches specially made for travelling (unscrews to fit into a suitcase).

Because I was paying I could also demand alterations to the leatherwork – straps etc. and for the first time in my life I could wear lace petticoats.

Two years after my complaint about calipers from Remploy, the Ministry inspected. By then I was wearing the new (private) caliper and therefore could not be accused of being unwilling to adjust etc. The Ministry inspector was admiring of my privately made caliper. I was not allowed to see his report. He did suggest that I had a caliper made on the NHS as a spare and a firm from Wolverhampton was brought in to make it. That company was as bad and inefficient as Remploy. In the end I signed for it, whilst not fitting, and took it privately to be altered.

Unfortunately, my fitter retired some years ago. On his recommendation I now go to a firm in Staffordshire. On the basis of my previous fitters drawings it has made some good calipers for me but the wuality of leatherwork is not so good and it make some of the same mistakes as the NHS – misreads left for right etc. It also charges a lot more. The first caliper it made broke within two years. It didn’t charge for the repair because the breakage – at the bucket, was unheard of. I obviously do not have such great confidence in it, but still prefer to pay than to revert to the NHS.

I wear normally made shoes. For years these had to be leather lace-ups – but of course these have virtually disappeared from the shops, for ladies. I gave up the NHS and now take shoes to a local shoe repairer. I mark where I want the sockets and provide the pattern of T strap that I want. This saves a lot of bother. I also import my shoes from Germany. A company very kindly posts me a single pair at a time. It makes orthopaedic shoes, suitable for caliper fitting, which look and feel fine, and which vary in colour and pattern each season. Dependent on the exchange rate thse are not too expensive and Customs and Excise do not always charge import duty. These shoes are far better than anything I have ever seen in the UK.

I hate the elbow crutches which grip the arm, and I consider them dangerous. They also give out an annoying click as you walk. My father made me a supply before he died and I have since had some made to my own design.

Having a good job I have obviously been able to buy my way out of trouble. From my prospective the old style fitters who could also make the calipers, were far superior to the new ‘trained’ fitters. The new young fitters do not seem to be able to communicate effectively and efficiently with their workshops as to exactly what is required. Their measurement techniques and drawings are deplorable. I believe the workmanship is shoddy because the patient’s have no rights. I would prefer a prosthesis allowance to ‘spend’ with the firm of my choice. As things stand the few firms involved are not supervised correctly, they have no incentive for quality control, and they are overseen very poorly by the Government.

I am very fearful that by the time I reach old age there will be no one left in the UK able to fit and make decent calipers. I hope I have sufficient cash to go abroad. I suspect by then, it will be necessary to travel to Africa or India to get a decent leg iron.

BMJ Leicestershire

I am 49 years old, had polio at the age of seven. When I came out of hospital I wore a full length caliper on the left leg and a short one on the right under the knee. I also had a band around my waist. Later the band and shorter caliper were taken away leaving the full length one on my left leg. At that time calipers were held together by screws and they used to bend. I remember having to straighten it and hoping I would get home before it let me down. The postman once found me sitting on the pavement and had to get my father who took me home on the handles of his bicycle.

At the age of 15 I had an operation for a dropped foot and the caliper was taken away although my leg had wasted muscles. I walked with sticks. In the 1970s I had a pair of sugical shoes made but was not very happy with them. They seemed to scuff easily and soon looked scruffy.

As I got older I knew that I would have to have a caliper again due to the amount of preasure I was putting on my arms walking with sticks. After attending the hospital I was measured for a cosmetic caliper and plaster casts were taken. After five months I had my first fitting. I could not put my foot down, it was so painful. After some alterations I wore it to go home but had to go back a few times because of rubbing at the ankle. Every time they adjusted it there was rubbing in other areas. I’m afraid if I have it altered again it rub somewhere else so I am putting up with it.

I recently bought a new pair of shoes to be built up but I found that there is not a lot of choice because I need stronger leather. They all seem to be soft with not much support for the foot.

I really do wish they could come up with something better. I have problems with my knee lock. It doesn’t always lock properly and I have to push back on my leg. The colour of the plastic could be more coffee coloured to match tights for women. I have Velcro straps that catch on tights all the time and ruin them.

AMW Dyfed 

Both my legs are paralysed through polio and I have a slight scoliosis.

I wear two cosmetic callipers at present but have worn callipers since the age of eight. My first pair of cosmetic callipers were obtained about 1976. These and successive pairs were made of Ortholean but owing to a weakening of my left ankle the material has been changed to Dural. The great advantage of this material is that it’s light but it tends to mark surfaces like toilet seats. This can be very embarrassing when visiting friends. I used to have leather supports and straps but my latest ones are made of webbing. The appearance is good and much better than leather. Velcro is great until it comes within half a mile of my tights!! Why can’t they fit a slightly wider strap with narrower Velcro? Also the maker should ensure that the Velcro hooks are on the end of the strap to protect clothing.

I also wear a 7/8 raise with outside flare on my left shoe – if they remember to include it.

LEJ Durham 

I am aged 58 and had a bad dose of polio at the age of 15, spending a year in hospital and and first being paralysed in practictaly my whole body. I gradually recovered strenngth and for many years was able to walk fairly well (for the ficst 2 or 3 years wearing a right below knee brace) although always having a near useless right arm and hand and severely weakened right leg and foot.

Over the last 10 to 15 years my whole body has become weakened and I've very much suffered the late effects of polio much written about recently in the BP Bulletin. In May, 1992 I resumed wearing a below knee brace on my right leg because my foot turns over so badly. The appliance seems to have changed little in 40 years and I was disappointed when told that the cosmetic brace was not suitable for my type of disability. I asked whether some sort of knee brace could be incorporated and was told it could not although the firm had tried in the past. I can only safeely put weight on my leg if my knee is locked straight which puts a strain on the joint.

There is one feature wihich really annoys me and that is the black grease which always coats the ‘stalk of metal fitting into the hole in the shoe heel. No matter what lubricant I use unless I am very steady handed and lucky the wretched bit of metal seems attracted to carpets, clothes etc. like a magnet and out comes the Stain Devils once again! Why can't the stalk be fixed in the hole in some way so that it does not have to be slotted in and pulled out again every time the brace and shoe are put on or taken off?

1 wear 'off the shelf' shoes though becuuse I have an arch support under the right foot and my left foot is much broader than the right my choice is very limited. The Fact that I cannot bend my right foot downwards makes winter boots a problem unless they have openings which fasten. Again a limitation of choice.

I walk with a stick and have a wheelchair for long distances.

AAS Devon 

I suffer from the after effects of polio in early childhood. I have been wearing knee-bending calipers on my right leg for years and have a 1 inch cork raise fitted to my shoe. I use a walking stick for getting around and also have to rely on my wheelchair a lot more than I used to,

I have experienced many of the common problems that casue concern to caliper wearers, i.e. Heavy, never really fitting my leg, ugly, and Oh those leather knee pads. I’ve been complaining on deaf ears for a long time about bulging knees and stiff straps and buckles.

 In 1992 I was supplied with a cosmetic caliper for the first time. I loved it. It actually looked as though it was made my leg. It was light and I walked so much better and had for the first time ever a choice of footware. However, after two bad falls I have lost my confidence in it. The first accident happend shortly after I started wearing it. I got up to answer the phone and the knee lock gave way. I was imobile for ten days. The second occurrence happened a few months later. Again the knee lock gave way for no apparent reason and that resulted in a broken leg. I was in plaster for eight weeks. This happen the week after a fitter had checked the caliper over for faults. I have since returned the caliper saying that I have lost confidence in wearing it. I will only go back to wearing it if they can fit more reliable knee locks.

I am in a delemma now, I don’t want to go back to a badly fitted heavy caliper, but can I trust another cosmetic caliper? Have we in re-styling the bulky knee locks for slimmer lighter ones sacrificed relaibility?

CP Northamptonshire