[Prevalence of equinus deformity in inpatients treated at a university hospital]

In the authors' opinion the prevalence of equinus foot deformities is an underestimated medical and socioeconomic problem that has not yet been adequately investigated. A  dorsiflexion in the ankle joint of < 10° can lead to limitations in gait.

The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of equinus foot deformities based on the degree of restriction of dorsiflexion in the ankle joint in hospitalized patients.

In this cross-sectional study the active range of motion of the ankle joint in 205 patients at Münster University Hospital was prospectively examined with a goniometer. Included in the study were 136 trauma surgery and 69 neurology patients. The association of restricted dorsiflexion with other clinical parameters was investigated using the χ²-test or Fischer's exact test. The significance level was set at p < 0.05.

In total, 205 patients with mean age of 59 years were included. There was a slight predominance of males (55.1%) in the gender distribution. The average dorsal extension of the ankle joint was 7.03°on the right side and 8.92° on the left side. Of the patients 72.2% had a dorsiflexion in the ankle joint of < 10°, 38.1% a dorsiflexion < 5° and 16.1% a dorsiflexion < 0° on at least one side. A relevant association between age, gender, duration of hospitalization and the reason for treatment with a restriction of dorsiflexion could not be observed.

The results suggest that restriction of dorsiflexion is a frequent problem in our group of trauma surgery and neurology patients. In particular, the presence of a manifest equinus deformity of the foot of > 10% that could not achieve the neutral position is a relevant finding.