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But i do know there is some researching suggesting that gait plates do not decrease the degree of intoeing. The only effect they had in this research was decreasing frequency of tripping, but in this young man this does not seem to be apparent. It showed there was no change in intoeing with or without gait plates
I would be interested in seeing this article. Every gait plate that I have seen from commercial laboratories in the last 20 years has been done wrong.
I had the pleasure of spending a lot of time with Dick Schuster during my fellowship in 1976. One day he decided to teach me how to make a gait plate out of steel (the way they were originally made). I was surprised when he started making it without a cast. He told me that originally they were made to the shoe. Also he told me that they are made to go to the end of the shoe, so it can effectively change the break in the shoe.
The commercial gait plates I see go from behind the first metatarsal head to just in front of the fifth metatarsal head. These are way too short to have any significant effect on the gait angle.
Last edited by Admin : 5th October 2005 at 12:14 AM.
An evaluation of the use of gait plate inlays in the short-term management of the intoeing child.
Foot Ankle Int. 1998 Mar;19(3):144-8.
Redmond AC.
A method of short-term intervention in cases of symptomatic intoeing in young children was evaluated. Foot placement angle (FPA) in subjects (N = 18) suffering from symptomatic intoeing was compared before and during the wearing of "gait plate" inlays in the footgear. The median preintervention FPA in the study group was -9.5 degrees (i.e., 9.5 degrees of intoeing). After the addition of gait plate inlays, this angle fell to -3.5 degrees (Wilcoxon's matched pairs test P < 0.0001). There was no correlation found between the site of the underlying pathology, gender, or age in relation to either the degree of original intoeing or resulting improvement. There was a significant negative correlation (Spearman's correlation coefficient -0.512, P < 0.001) between the FPA at diagnosis and the subsequent improvement.
I thought he had...and I agree with him...about the need to actually alter the break angle of the shoe involved....you could also try a met roll bar installed at an angle on the sole of the shoe...should contribute to the desired result....I think.
Regards Phill
The Following User Says Thank You to pgcarter For This Useful Post:
I agree that the commercial labs did make their gait plates too short ( I have trained mine) as they need to go from just behind the 1st MPJ and extend to the distal end of the 5th toe at least.
They must change the break point in the shoe so the shoe should be very flexable, even a cheap runner is a help so the patient cannot override the gait plate with a stiff shoe.
I have had great success with this combination.
Regards
Richard
I had the pleasure of spending a lot of time with Dick Schuster during my fellowship in 1976. One day he decided to teach me how to make a gait plate out of steel (the way they were originally made). I was surprised when he started making it without a cast. He told me that originally they were made to the shoe. Also he told me that they are made to go to the end of the shoe, so it can effectively change the break in the shoe.
The commercial gait plates I see go from behind the first metatarsal head to just in front of the fifth metatarsal head. These are way too short to have any significant effect on the gait angle.
before designing orthoses for a lady p/t with severe toe in gait. With a compliant cavus foot she also had excessive rearfoot pronation and f/foot abduction and her gait was very narrow even criss cross which made her very unstable in ambulation. I designed her orthoses with an extended lateral gait plate from the 1st ray c/o to the distal 4th and 5th then ground it to the shoe. It worked a treat, much wider gait and less in toeing.
He told me that originally they were made to the shoe. Also he told me that they are made to go to the end of the shoe, so it can effectively change the break in the shoe. 
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