Gait electromyographic evaluation of the long-toe flexors in children with spastic cerebral palsy.

In a prospective study of the phasic activity of the long-toe flexors of patients with spastic cerebral palsy, the electrical activity of the long-toe flexors in 37 children with varus or valgus hindfoot deformity was measured by wire electrode dynamic electromyography. Although gross abnormalities in the phasic timing of the flexor hallucis longus and flexor digitorum longus were observed, these muscles could not be implicated in the etiology of hindfoot deformity. In planning gait analysis protocols for children with cerebral palsy and hindfoot deformity, electromyography of the long-toe flexors is not necessary unless toe curling is clinically evident.