Role of ankle foot orthoses in the outcome of clinical tests of balance

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of ankle foot orthoses (AFOs) on the outcome of balance assessment. Methods: Ten healthy subjects participated in clinical tests of balance with and without bilateral ankle foot orthoses (AFOs). The following clinical tests were performed: the Modified Clinical Test of Sensory Interaction on Balance (MCTSIB), the Limits of Stability (LOS) and the Functional Reach test. Results: A statistically significant effect of AFOs was seen in the outcomes of the MCTSIB test (p = 0.042), LOS test (p = 0.021) and Reach test (p = 0.003). Conclusions: The results indicate that the use of AFOs may impede the performance of clinical tests of balance. This outcome should be taken into consideration while performing balance evaluations with patient populations in the clinic.

Implications for Rehabilitation

• Ankle foot orthoses (AFOs) are effective means of improving ambulation in patients.

• The use of AFOs may influence the outcome of clinical tests of balance.

• The role of AFOs should be taken into consideration while performing balance evaluations in the clinic.

Keywords::

• Ankle foot orthoses
• balance assessment
• Balance Master^®

Acknowledgements

We are thankful to Sambit Mohapatra for his help with the statistical analysis and Neeta Kanekar and Vennila Krishnan for their useful comments regarding the first draft of this manuscript.

Declaration of interest

This study was supported in part by NIH grant HD-064838.