Background: It is critical to distinguish gait compensations from true abnormalities when planning interventions to improve gait in individuals with neuromuscular disorders.
Questions/purposes: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of isolated ankle equinus on knee kinematics during the initial contact phase of gait.
Methods: Ten healthy subjects (29 + 4.3 years) participated, and testing occurred in a motion analysis laboratory. This cross-sectional study investigated five gait conditions in each subject: shoe alone, shoe with unilateral ankle foot orthosis locked at neutral, 10°, 20°, and 30° of fixed ankle plantar flexion. Gait kinematics were recorded and calculated with 3D motion analysis. The difference between the shoe and each brace condition was analyzed by repeated-measures ANOVA. The primary outcome was knee flexion at initial contact.
Results: With greater than 10° simulated ankle equinus, the primary gait compensation pattern was increased knee flexion at initial contact. A significant degree of knee flexion occurred ranging from 7° to 22°.
Conclusion: Our data suggests that observed knee flexion at initial contact may be a compensation pattern in individuals with >10° ankle equinus. However, in individuals with ≤10° ankle equinus, observed knee flexion may represent a true gait deviation. This has clinical significance in the realm of cerebral palsy for treatment planning to improve gait.
Keywords: cerebral palsy; equinus; gait; gait compensations; knee flexion; knee kinematics.