Effect of partial foot anaesthesia on normal gait

The role of cutaneous sensation during gait is controversial. Hence this double-blind study investigated the effect of partial foot anaesthesia on gait velocity. Twenty healthy female subjects were randomly allocated to treatment or control groups. Velocity was determined from three walking trials over a compliant foam walkway. Eutectic Mixture of Local Anaesthetics (EMLA) or Vitamin E Cream was applied to the undersurface of the feet of subjects in treatment or control groups respectively. All subjects rested in sitting for 60 minutes and gait was reassessed. Mean velocity significantly decreased by 6.06m/min following EMLA, which suggests that cutaneous input is important for gait in less predictable environments, and that loss of cutaneous sensation may contribute to gait deficits.