Putting your feet and legs into rigid plastic cases, no matter how pretty the design is or how well padded they are, is never going to be an entirely pleasurable experience.
You're probably going to have your feet placed in a different position to your usual, and the nature of AFO's will mean that you will have to learn how to walk in a slightly different way. It's all very strange and not something that is easy to explain unless you've worn AFO's yourself.
The orthotics team at my hospital are fantastic and check everything over and over to ensure that my AFO's are as comfortable as possible but like me, you'll probably find that your AFO's will rub, dig in or leave red marks at first, because they're new to your legs and it's all a bit of an alien experience.
You will probably be asked to attend a further orthotics appointment a few weeks after you receive your AFO's so that they can be checked again and adjusted if necessary. I had to have them lowered at the top of my calfs because they were too tall and pinched the back of my knees when I climbed stairs or sat down. I was also given Velcro strips to stop the knee pads from dropping down and bruising my shins.
You also need to remember that AFO's may be pretty heavy, which makes walking a bit more of a challenge. My AFO's weigh almost 1kg apiece (and I can tell), so I suppose you could say that I'm walking whilst wearing leg weights!
Comfort - now
At the moment my AFO's are pretty painful because I've lost a lot of weight since they were made. Despite wearing long socks and leggings, I can't fasten the Velcro straps tight enough to stop my legs from slipping, and they're very loose on my ankles even though I had additional padding added at hospital a few weeks ago. Because my AFO's are heavy, the momentum of walking means that they're rubbing a fair bit which causes blisters. Not pleasant, but I'm having new AFO's made (I can't wait to get rid of the blue colour!) so these problems will soon be a thing of the past.
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