Article

Midfoot break (MFB) is a foot deformity that occurs most commonly in children
with cerebral palsy (CP), but may also affect children with other developmental
disorders. Dynamic MFB develops because the muscles that cross the ankle joint
are hypertonic, resulting in a breakdown and dysfunction of the bones within the
foot. In turn, this creates excessive motion at the midfoot. With the resulting
inefficient lever arm, the foot is then unable to push off the ground
effectively, resulting in an inadequate and painful gait pattern. Currently,
there is no standard quantitative method for detecting early stages of MFB, which
would allow early intervention before further breakdown occurs. The first step in
developing an objective tool for early MFB diagnosis is to examine the difference
in dynamic function between a foot with MFB and a typical foot. Therefore, the
main purpose of this study was to compare the differences in foot motion between
children with MFB and children with typical feet (Controls) using a multi-segment
kinematic foot model. We found that children with MFB had a significant decrease
in peak ankle dorsiflexion compared to Controls (1.3 +/- 6.4 degrees versus 8.6
+/- 3.4 degrees ) and a significant increase in peak midfoot dorsiflexion
compared to Controls (15.2 +/- 4.9 degrees versus 6.4 +/- 1.9 degrees ). This
study may help clinicians track the progression of MFB and help standardize
treatment recommendations for children with this type of foot deformity.
CI - Copyright (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS