Article

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of ankle foot
orthoses (AFOs) on the outcome of balance assessment. METHODS: Ten healthy
subjects participated in clinical tests of balance with and without bilateral
ankle foot orthoses (AFOs). The following clinical tests were performed: the
Modified Clinical Test of Sensory Interaction on Balance (MCTSIB), the Limits of
Stability (LOS) and the Functional Reach test. RESULTS: A statistically
significant effect of AFOs was seen in the outcomes of the MCTSIB test (p =
0.042), LOS test (p = 0.021) and Reach test (p = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: The results
indicate that the use of AFOs may impede the performance of clinical tests of
balance. This outcome should be taken into consideration while performing balance
evaluations with patient populations in the clinic.

Langue : ANGLAIS