Thrive Orthopedics® F3 Hero Pediatric AFO Brace

Thrive Orthopedics® F3 Hero Pediatric Ankle Foot Orthosis (AFO) Brace

Coming soon! The world's highest quality pediatric carbon fiber AFO!

Walk easier and more naturally with the all-new F3 Hero Pediatric Carbon Fiber AFO, available soon!

Our F3 Pediatric advanced carbon-fiber Ankle Foot Orthosis (known as an AFO) is unlike anything you’ve ever seen. Mindfully designed for users with dexterity issues, this dynamic feedback orthosis is ultra-lightweight with the industry’s best 2-year carbon fiber warranty.

Thanks to your feedback, our cutting-edge design boasts the following best-in-class product features:

✔ ULTRA-LIGHT– Our aerospace-grade carbon fiber stores and releases energy, providing spring-like dynamic feedback to make walking easier and more natural. 

✔ 2-YEAR WARRANTY - Maximum durability and the industry's best 2-year total carbon fiber warranty

✔ MAXIMUM SUPPORT - The F3 AFO strikes the perfect balance between lightweight construction and an enhanced, ultra-secure fit

✔ MAXIMUM COMFORT – The F3 AFO uses thermal-formed, moisture-wicking padding with a tibia- relief channel, making this brace the most comfortable AFO on the market

✔ ZERO CONTACT – Our proprietary strut design avoids contact with the ankle bone that causes many other devices to be uncomfortable or painful

✔ FUTURISTIC DESIGN – The breathtaking laminated finish and intricate design details make the F3 AFO the single most premium product in the industry

✔ 5 CONVENIENT SIZES – People are not one-size-fits-all, and your AFO brace shouldn't be either! The F3 AFO accommodates the full spectrum of sizes and anatomies, from Women’s size 6 to Men’s size 15

✔ FAMILY OWNED - Thrive Orthopedics is a family-owned, independent business operating out of Carmel, Indiana. We treat every customer like a member of the Thrive family

How Does the F3 AFO Help?

✔ Lightweight, Dynamic Support - The F3 AFO is more than just a foot drop brace. Leveraging ultra-light, aerospace-grade carbon fiber, the F3 is one of the lightest yet most supportive devices available in the industry today. This dynamic control allows for improved support, off-loading, and balance which helps you walk more naturally

✔ Dorsiflexion Assist - People suffering from drop foot lose some or all of their ability to dorsiflex, their ability to raise their foot upwards towards their shin. Because of this, carbon fiber AFOs are often referred to as foot drop braces. The F3 AFO not only provides control and support for users with foot drop, but the contoured footplate design and carbon fiber material properties actually store and release energy throughout the gait cycle to provide dorsiflexion assistance and a spring-like effect for users with foot drop.  

✔ Plantarflexion Control - Plantarflexion is the the ability to point your foot away from your leg. The F3 AFO is often referred to as a dorsi-assist AFO but carbon fiber AFOs also work effectively to restrict plantarflexion, allowing for greater energy storage and velocity during push-off.

✔ Muscle Usage & Posture - Many practitioners and clinical experts cite extensive benefits of the utilization of dynamic carbon fiber ankle foot orthoses (like the F3) over more restrictive and cumbersome plastic devices often prescribed to those suffering from foot drop. According to Randy Stevens, BOCPD, CFO, “The energy restoring aspect of carbon AFOs increases range of motion in the knee and hip, and leads to less abducted gait patterns. More muscles are firing, so we’re not contributing to weakening of the gastrocs. Oftentimes a more normal gait brings with it a more erect posture, as well.”

✔ Incredible Comfort - Our lateral strut design allows the brace to enter your shoe on the outside-side of your foot, in-front of the ankle bone, creating a zero contact entry point and eliminating the painful rubbing and chaffing that many users experience with other AFOs on the market. Our moisture-wicking padding is ultra-breathable and also removable, washable, and replaceable. 

✔ Designed With You in Mind - If you have ever had a bad experience in the healthcare system, you know the only way to get what you deserve is to advocate for yourself. With insurances and healthcare networks trying to maximize profit by prescribing cheap plastic devices or one-size-fits-all braces that just don't fit, we set out to design a product that we would be proud to give to a member of own family. The F3 AFO is the most premium and functional device on the market - don't settle for anything less. 

Indication & Fitting Guide

Common Indications: foot drop, foot slap, and other pathologies related to ambulatory weakness associated with conditions such as MS, muscular dystrophy, traumatic brain injuries, Charcot-Marie-Tooth, Gullain-Barre syndrome, achilles tendinosis, post polio syndrome, stroke, cerebral palsy, mid-foot and ankle arthrosis, or myelomeningocele. 

Do not use this product if: User weight exceeds 299 lbs, user has ulcers on or near AFO contact area, user has moderate or severe edema, user has moderate to severe foot deformities, user has severe ankle instability, user has plantarflexion contracture, user has severe fixed ankle valgus or varus conditions, user has non-correctable triplanar instability, user engages in high impact sports or activities, user has material allergies, user has severe spasticity.

Fitting Tips: 

✔ Utilize appropriate footwear: Our F-series AFOs can be worn with a wide variety of shoes but we typically recommend comfortable, lace-up sneakers with a slightly raised heel height such as Brooks, New Balance, and Sketchers. In most cases, our F-Series AFOs will work perfectly with your current shoe size but if you find yourself needing extra room, you may consider moving up 1/2 a shoe size. 

✔ Measure your current insole: Our F-Series AFOs are intended to be used inside of your shoe, under your current insole. To ensure that you order the appropriate size, measure your current insole and compare the length to the sizing chart above and choose the size that is closest but not significantly larger than the length of your current insole. These devices can only be trimmed by certified medical professionals with appropriate tools and safety equipment to accommodate modifications. 

✔ The straps can be trimmed with scissors: If the straps are too long, remove the Thrive-branded alligator tabs from the top and bottom straps (these are velcro'd on - not sewn on). Trim the straps to the desired length and reattach the alligator tabs for a secure fit.

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