Relationship between three static angles of the rearfoot and the pattern of rearfoot motion during walking.

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship of the static angle of the rearfoot during single leg standing, relaxed standing foot posture, and subtalar joint neutral position with the pattern of rearfoot motion during walking. The authors felt that this study was important to gain a better understanding of the relationship between dynamic rearfoot motion and three static rearfoot angles which are often included in foot examination procedures. The pattern of rearfoot motion was assessed using two-dimensional video recordings for each lower extremity of 31 healthy young adult subjects with a mean age of 25.2 years. The mean path of rearfoot motion during walking crossed relaxed standing foot posture but did not cross single leg standing or subtalar neutral position. These findings suggest that the mean path of rearfoot motion during the first 60% of the walking cycle occurs between the static angles of relaxed standing foot posture and single leg standing. In addition, the static angle of the rearfoot in single leg standing may serve as a clinical indicator of the degree of maximum rearfoot eversion occurring during the walking cycle.