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Individuals with foot drop often wear an ankle-foot orthosis (AFO) to prevent excessive plantarflexion, but many commercially available AFOs overly restrict ankle mobility or make the wearer feel unstable\/uncomfortable. Soft AFOs\u2014AFOs with soft attachment points and elastic assistance\u2014are designed to retain ankle mobility and comfort. However, their effect on gait biomechanics, as compared to traditional AFOs, is not well understood. Therefore, the objective of the current study was to perform a comprehensive biomechanical and neurophysiological comparison of soft AFOs with traditional AFOs. Sagittal plane kinematics, ground reaction forces, and lower extremity muscle activation were measured in 23 neurologically intact individuals while walking on a treadmill without assistance from an AFO (No AFO) and then with unilateral assistance from four commercially available AFOs (rigid anterior, flexible posterior leaf spring, and two soft AFOs). We found that soft AFOs allowed for greater ankle dorsiflexion velocity, plantarflexion velocity, and plantarflexion angle while retaining or increasing dorsiflexion during the swing phase. We also found that the traditional AFOs reduced propulsive ground reaction forces compared to the soft AFOs, and the rigid anterior AFO reduced plantarflexor muscle activity compared to the soft AFOs. These results highlight the differences between different commercially available AFOs and present soft AFOs as an exciting alternative to traditional AFOs when ankle mobility is desired.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/09226028251395707","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,8]],"date-time":"2025-12-08T16:15:17Z","timestamp":1765210517000},"page":"219-234","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Soft vs. Traditional AFOs: A Comparative Study on Gait Kinematics, Kinetics, and Muscle Activity"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"44","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2781-3066","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Thomas E.","family":"Augenstein","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Neuromuscular &amp; Rehabilitation Robotics Laboratory (NeuRRo Lab), Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA"},{"name":"Department of Robotics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA"},{"name":"Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Michigan Medicine, Ann Arbor, MI, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Breanna","family":"Bordine","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Neuromuscular &amp; Rehabilitation Robotics Laboratory (NeuRRo Lab), Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nyari","family":"Bhatt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Neuromuscular &amp; Rehabilitation Robotics Laboratory (NeuRRo Lab), Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shreeya","family":"Buddaraju","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Neuromuscular &amp; Rehabilitation Robotics Laboratory (NeuRRo Lab), Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Olugbenga P.","family":"Adeeko","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Elite Athlete Products, Inc, San Diego, CA, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Edward P.","family":"Washabaugh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Engineering, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7278-7389","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Chandramouli","family":"Krishnan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Neuromuscular &amp; Rehabilitation Robotics Laboratory (NeuRRo Lab), Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA"},{"name":"Department of Robotics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA"},{"name":"Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Michigan Medicine, Ann Arbor, MI, USA"},{"name":"Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA"},{"name":"Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA"},{"name":"School of Kinesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA"},{"name":"Michigan Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA"},{"name":"Department of Physical Therapy, University of Michigan-Flint, Flint, MI, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_2_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rehab.2017.05.004"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2165\/00007256-199010010-00005"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0309364612448511"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3233\/RNN-231367"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/NPT.0000000000000299"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1352458508101320"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_8_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jmpt.2022.04.003"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_9_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/dmcn.13708"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_10_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3109\/17518423.2013.830653"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_11_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jbiomech.2017.09.015"},{"issue":"8","key":"e_1_3_2_12_1","article-title":"Commonly Used Types and Recent Development of Ankle-Foot Orthosis: A Narrative Review","volume":"9","author":"Choo Y. 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