What To Measure When Determining Orthotic Needs In Children With Down Syndrome: A Pilot Study

Purpose: To compare the effects of off-the-shelf foot orthoses and supramalleolar orthoses on the gait of children with Down syndrome (DS), and establish criteria for determining orthoses prescription for a child with DS. Methods: We assessed the gait of 6 children (aged 4-7 years) with DS using the GAITRite system, and obtained height, weight, leg length, hypermobility, calcaneal eversion, navicular drop, and tibial torsion measurements. Results: Supramalleolar orthoses lead to a longer cycle time than foot orthoses (P = .05) and barefoot walking (P =. 03) and a lower cadence than barefoot walking (P =. 04). Significant strong correlations with gait parameters were obtained for height, leg length, and hypermobility. Biomechanical measurements showed no significant correlations with gait parameters. Conclusions: The role of physical examination data, including anthropometric and biomechanical measurements in the prescription of orthoses requires further investigation. (Pediatr Phys Ther 2012;24:313-319