Gait analysis in surgically treated clubfoot

Area of Science:

• Orthopedics
• Biomechanical analysis
• Gait studies

Background:

• Clubfoot is a common congenital foot deformity.
• Surgical correction is a primary treatment for clubfoot.
• Understanding long-term functional outcomes, like gait, is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate gait patterns in individuals with surgically corrected clubfoot.
• To compare electromyographic activity and stride characteristics with normative data.

Main Methods:

• Electromyography (EMG) of the medial gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior muscles was recorded.
• Stride characteristics including length and single limb support time were measured.
• Gait parameters were compared between surgically treated clubfoot patients and healthy controls.

Main Results:

• The duration of medial gastrocnemius muscle activity was significantly longer in the clubfoot group compared to controls.
• Tibialis anterior muscle activity, stride length, and single limb support time showed no significant differences.
• No correlation was observed between gait analysis findings and the perceived quality of the surgical result.

Conclusions:

• Surgical management of clubfoot leads to altered muscle activation patterns, specifically prolonged calf muscle activity.
• Despite muscle activation differences, overall gait mechanics and stride parameters appear normalized.
• Gait analysis may not correlate with subjective surgical outcome assessments in clubfoot patients.