Reliability of three foot models to examine paediatric gait

Background
A variety of multi-segmental foot models have been produced
to examine patterns of foot segmental movement
during gait cycle to identify biomechanical differences
between normal and pathological foot function[1-3].
The reliability of foot models to accurately describe
motion of the foot joints is dependent on the ability of
the examiner to repeatedly apply markers to specific
landmarks and the relevance of models’ segmental
descriptions to underlying anatomy. The aim of this
study was to test the reliability of segmental angles measured
by three published foot models during paediatric
gait.
Materials and methods
Sixteen children, aged 6 to 12 years old, were recruited
to the study. Marker sets for three foot models 3DFoot
[1], Oxford Foot Model (OFM)[2], and Kinfoot[3] were
applied to their right feet simultaneously which to the
authors knowledge, is the first direct comparison of the
three models during gait. Each foot model was assessed
for repeatability of maximal joint angle and range of
motion during the gait cycle between two testing occasions.
Absolute angular differences and standard error
of measurement (SEM) are reported.
Results
Repeatability of all maximal segmental angles and range
of motions were higher in 3DFoot compared to OFM
and Kinfoot (Table 1).

From 3rd Congress of the International Foot and Ankle Biomechanics Community, Sydney, Australia. 11-13 April 2012