Changes in Toe Clearance Due to Adjusting the Dorsiflexion Angle of Ankle–Foot Orthoses: A Study in Healthy Individuals

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of ankle dorsiflexion angle adjustments in ankle–foot orthoses (AFOs) on the gait of healthy individuals. Fifteen healthy participants engaged in treadmill walking tasks while wearing AFOs with dorsiflexion angles set at 0°, 5°, 10°, and 15°. Three-dimensional treadmill gait analysis was used to collect data during treadmill walking. The analysis focused on toe clearance and the contribution of the vertical component of limb shortening (LS), and compared them across different dorsiflexion angles. The results indicated a significant increase in toe clearance at 10° (median [interquartile change]: 5.03 [0.90] vs. 5.98 [1.18], p < 0.01) and 15° (5.03 [0.90] vs. 5.82 [1.11], p < 0.01) dorsiflexion angle conditions compared to the 0° condition. Similarly, LS demonstrated significant increases at 10° (4.89 [1.97] vs. 5.87 [1.31], p < 0.01) and 15° (4.89 [1.97] vs. 5.61 [1.65], p < 0.01) conditions when compared with the 0° condition. These findings support the notion that higher dorsiflexion angles in AFOs lead to increased toe clearance and LS, suggesting the effectiveness of dorsiflexion angle adjustments as a strategy to address reduced toe clearance.