How were the guidelines established for DBB/FAB use post-correction? Why not use another device?
The doctors in Iowa experimented with different types of abduction devices for many years while developing this method. They found that the current guideline of 3 months of fulltime wear followed by 2-3 years of night and nap-time wear has had the most success in preventing relapses. In the first 10 or so years of the Ponseti method, the rate of relapsing was higher because they had not yet determined what amount of use of the DBB was needed to help prevent it. About 10-15 years ago, the U of Iowa tried to use AFO’s and found that for the Ponseti method, that DBB’s worked better to prevent relapses. With the Ponseti method the DBB’s are prescribed for both unilateral and bilateral cases of clubfoot.
