Toe walking in children with cerebral palsy: a possible functional role for the plantar flexors

Abstract

Adaptation to walking in negative-heel shoes was similar in typically developing children and children with cerebral palsy: it featured ankle dorsiflexion upon initial contact, even though (in the latter group) the soleus was always spastic in a clinical examination. Hence, in children with cerebral palsy, the early deceleration of ankle dorsiflexion by the plantar flexors (promoted by early flattening of the foot, and regardless of the type of footwear) may have a functional role.