Evaluating bouncy gait in idiopathic toe-walkers using accelerometer

Idiopathic toe walkers are children whose heels do not touch the ground during walking, but who do not have any neurological deficit to explain this. The stretch reflexes for these children are normal, so that the toe walking appears to be voluntary. These children often suffer social problems. Many of these children who are not treated and some during treatment, are likely to develop a dasiaBouncy gaitpsila. ITW children can retain this bouncy gait even as adults leading to an abnormal gait pattern and potentially back problems. Gait monitoring boots [2] can be used to evaluate the nature of gait in the management of ITW children as the nature of the gait may vary from child to child. The aim in this paper is to distinguish a bouncy step from a normal step in the gait of managed ITW children, using boots with accelerometer embedded in the heel.