A reciprocating gait orthosis (RGO) is BEST described as which of the following?

A reciprocating gait orthosis (RGO) is BEST described as which of the following?

• A. A standard KAFO with an offset knee joint that allows free knee flexion during swing phase
• B. An AFO with a posterior leaf spring to assist ankle dorsiflexion during swing
• C. An HKAFO with cables that mechanically advance one lower extremity forward when the opposite limb is loaded
• D. A powered exoskeleton that uses motors to flex the hip and knee during gait

Answer: (C)

Reciprocating gait orthosis uses a cable-driven linkage to coordinate the legs so that when one limb bears weight, the opposite limb is mechanically advanced into swing. This setup is typically built on a hip–knee–ankle–foot orthosis (HKAFO) and uses cables connected to the harness and joints to pull the other leg forward as the wearer shifts weight onto the supporting side. The result is a more natural, reciprocal stepping pattern without relying on active hip flexion or powered motors. In contrast, devices described as a KAFO with an offset knee joint don’t create this automatic forward progression of the opposite leg; the AFO with a posterior leaf spring provides only ankle dorsiflexion assistance, not leg-to-leg reciprocity; and a powered exoskeleton relies on motors rather than a passive cable mechanism.

Reciprocating gait orthosis uses a cable-driven linkage to coordinate the legs so that when one limb bears weight, the opposite limb is mechanically advanced into swing. This setup is typically built on a hip–knee–ankle–foot orthosis (HKAFO) and uses cables connected to the harness and joints to pull the other leg forward as the wearer shifts weight onto the supporting side. The result is a more natural, reciprocal stepping pattern without relying on active hip flexion or powered motors.

In contrast, devices described as a KAFO with an offset knee joint don’t create this automatic forward progression of the opposite leg; the AFO with a posterior leaf spring provides only ankle dorsiflexion assistance, not leg-to-leg reciprocity; and a powered exoskeleton relies on motors rather than a passive cable mechanism.