Ankle Equinus

Excerpt

Ankle equinus is a prevalent finding in patients with foot and ankle pathology, and it is documented in 96.5% of patients presenting to a podiatric clinic with a new foot or ankle complaint. Ankle equinus is characterized by decreased dorsiflexion of the ankle or tibiotalar joint, although no specific degree of dorsiflexion loss is defined in the literature for diagnosis. The term "ankle equinus" can be described as the ankle's position in the sagittal plane, a gait pattern, or a a pathologic deformity, when combined with other terms. When used to describe a gait pattern, ankle equinus refers to the ankle plantar flexion in both the stance and swing gait phases. In addition, when describing a pathologic deformity, ankle equinus often results from overtightening of the gastrocnemius-soleus complex, leading to an overpull of the Achilles tendon at its insertion on the calcaneal tuberosity.