Introduction: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a progressive upper and lower motor neuron disease manifested by muscle stiffness, loss of muscle control, uncontrolled twitching of limbs, muscle atrophy, and spasticity. It is divided into three phases: the early, the middle, and the final. The disease is more common in men and lasts about three years from the onset of the first symptoms as there is no cure. The treatment aims to control and relieve symptoms to improve the quality of life. Methods of conservative treatment include the use of orthoses for the upper and lower limbs and spinal orthoses. Purpose: This diploma work aimed to review the scientific literature on orthoses used in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis concerning to determine their effectiveness. Methods: The literature search was carried out in English using the online databases PubMed and ScienceDirect. The keywords used were (als OR amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) AND (orthosis OR brace OR hand orthosis OR cervical orthosis). Full-text articles published in the last 10 years that included the use of orthoses in patients with ALS were included. Studies older than 10 years were excluded. Results: Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 10 studies were included. Five studies described cervical orthoses. Three studies included orthoses for the upper limbs and two studies included orthoses for the lower limbs. These studies investigated and described the function and efficiency of orthoses. The overall positive effects that orthoses provide are increased support, better mobility, and improved motion control. Discussion and conclusion: We found that cervical orthoses are most commonly used and most effective in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. They provide support for basic human needs (breathing and nutrition) and can also improve communication and speech. Due to the rapid progression of the disease, the orthoses often need to be adjusted. Therefore, neck orthoses are the easiest to adjust and are considered to be the most effective. Small number of research has been done in this field so far. For a better understanding of orthotic care, however, more complex research on this topic is recommended for the future.
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