Dear customer,
EN
thank you for choosing a product from Bauerfeind. ValguLoc® II is a
high-quality medical product.
Please read through these instructions for use carefully and if you
have any questions contact your physician, medical retailer or our
Technical Service department.
A crooked big toe, medically known as hallux valgus, is a condition
that commonly accompanies splayfoot. The condition can be
exacerbated for example by high heels or too tight- tting shoes
and can result in painful in ammation of the bursa on the ball
of the foot. ValguLoc® II is designed to bring the big toe into a
therapeutically favorable position. To this end, ValguLoc® II
can be adjusted to a variable correction angle. ValguLoc® II also
incorporates a joint that permits physiological movement of the
metatarsophalangeal joint and thus allows the wearer to walk
normally in comfortable, wide- tting shoes.
When used immediately after a hallux valgus operation, your
doctor can lock the movable joint in order to immobilize the
toe for a short period. In this case the patient may only walk in
special footware (e.g. orthopaedic shoe with a stiffened sole).
ValguLoc® II must be individually adapted to the patient by a
trained orthopaedic technician in order to gain the maximum
effect and optimal wear comfort from this orthosis
Indications
• Misalignment of the big toe (Hallux Valgus)
• Postoperative protection or conservative treatment
Side effects
Side effects involving the body as a whole have not been reported
to date. Correct use/ tting is assumed. Any supports and orthoses
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applied externally to the body can, if tightened excessively, lead to
local pressure signs and postoperatively to impaired wound healing
or, rarely, constrict the underlying blood vessels or nerves.
Orthosis = orthopedic appliances used to stabilize, relieve, immobilize, control
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or correct the limbs or the torso
Contraindications
Hypersensitive reactions harmful to health have not been reported
to date. In the following conditions such aids should only be tted
and applied after consultation with your medical provider:
1. Wounds at sites where the splint comes into contact with the
skin.
2. Skin disorders/injuries in the relevant part of the body,
particularly if in ammation is present. Likewise, any raised
scars with swellingredness and excessive heat build-up.
3. Impaired sensation and circulatory disorders of the feet, e.g.
Diabetes mellitus.
4. Impaired lymph drainage – including soft tissue swellings of
uncertain origin located remotely from the tted aid.
5. Gout in the big toe (podagra).
Fitting ValguLoc® II
The dynamic big toe splint can be worn on the right or left
foot. When tting the splint, ensure that the marking for the
respective side appears at the top of the scale. If tted to the
right foot, the R (for right) in light-grey lettering should appear
at the top. If tted to the left foot, the L (for left) in red lettering
should appear at the top. If right and left are mixed up the
splint may slip, potentially resulting in adverse effects on the
metatarsophalangeal joint and the loss of the therapeutic effect.
.
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As supplied from the factory, the joint stop of ValguLoc® II is
adjusted for use after surgery. To release the stop proceed as
follows:
1. Fold back the inner pad over the joint to reveal the inner
locking ring with two lugs on opposite sides (Fig. 1).
2. Remove this locking ring, which is not required for conservative
treatment. Walking with the splint is not possible when the
locking ring is inserted as the joint remains immobile (Fig. 2).
You will nd it easier to remove the inner locking ring if you
remove the outer locking ring beforehand (Step 5, Fig. 5) and
then push the inner locking ring inwards from the outside.
3. Now position the splint on the inner aspect of the foot to be
tted. Open the upward-pointing straps and pull these out of
the guide slit. Ensure that the toe shell is located on the side
of the foot. The splint joint on the inside of the foot must be
centered precisely over the middle of the metatarsophalangeal
joint (ball) (Fig. 3).
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