Individuals with cerebral palsy (CP) often develop tight hamstrings which restrict knee motion in gait and cause crouch. These patients also have reduced stride length, presumably due to the restricted knee motion. If the hamstring tightness is sufficient to require surgery with the goal of reducing crouch, it is often expected that stride length should be increased as well. After reviewing a number of patients following hamstring intervention and being somewhat disappointed with their stride length improvements (despite decreased crouch), a formal, prospective study was designed to examine what kinematic and kinetic variables would predict stride length. These variables were divided into three areas: knee motion, ankle push-off energy, and contralateral balance limitations.
展开▼
