A Study on the Change of Gait Temporal Parameter and Ankle Joint Moment in Patients with Achilles Tendinitis

Abstract

This study was to investigate the change of gait temporal parameter and ankle joint moment between patients with achilles tendinitis and healthy people. Thus, the purpose of this study is to clarify biomechanical change of gait in patients with achilles tendinitis and to find risk factor for prevention of achilles tendinitis. We recruited 20 patients with an achilles tendinitis and 20 healthy people. While subjects shuttled 5 times on 13 m distance with comfortable pace, we examined gait function marker with three-dimensional gait analysis system. All subject outstepped center of forceplate during gait and calculated ankle joint moment using software. Obtained data was analyzed using SPSS 12.0 software. In results, we confirmed that patients with achilles tendinitis showed reduction of extension moment in early initial phase and reduction of flexion moment in mid-stance on hip joint. and reduction of flexion moment in early initial phase and reduction of extension moment in late phase on knee joint. And we identified that patients with achilles tendinitis showed reduction of dorsiflexion moment in early stance phase, maximal plantarflexion moment in mid stance phase, and dorsiflexion moment in late stance phase. Thus, there are biomechanical changes on gait in patients with achilles tendinitis compared to healthy people. And, in clinical settings, they should focus on changes of gait in patients with achilles tendinitis. Further study will be undertaken for the biomechanical changes of patietns with achilles tendinitis.