Differentiation of idiopathic toe-walking and cerebral palsy.
Kinematic data were collected on two groups of children with diagnoses of idiopathic toe-walking and mild spastic diplegia. Although both groups lacked a heel strike at initial contact, two distinct gait patterns were found. The toe-walkers displayed a variable pattern of ankle motion with moderate to severe plantarflexion at stance. The cerebral palsy patients showed a repeatable gait pattern with only minimal deviation from normal. The absence of a heel strike in this group is due to the sustained knee flexion at terminal swing and initial contact, which was significantly greater than in the toe-walkers.
Hicks
R
R
Kinesiology Laboratory, Newington Children's Hospital, CT 06111.
Durinick
N
N
Gage
J R
JR
D000842:Ankle / Q000503:physiopathology; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait; D006801:Humans; D007717:Knee / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D009069:Movement Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D014034:Toes