ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Many studies on ankle-foot orthoses investigated the optimal stiffness around the ankle, while the effect of footplate stiffness has been largely ignored. This study investigated the effects of ankle-foot orthosis footplate stiffness on ankle-foot push-off power during walking in able-bodied persons. METHODS: Twelve healthy participants walked at a fixed speed (1.25 m·s-1) on an instrumented treadmill in four conditions: shod and with a posterior leaf-spring orthosis with a flexible, stiff or rigid footplate. For each trial, ankle kinematics and kinetics were averaged over one-minute walking. Separate contributions of the ankle joint complex and distal hindfoot to total ankle-foot power and work were calculated using a deformable foot model. FINDINGS: Peak ankle joint power was significantly higher with the rigid footplate compared to the flexible and stiff footplate and not different from shod walking. The stiff footplate increased peak hindfoot power compared to the flexible and rigid footplate and shod walking. Total ankle-foot power showed a significant increase with increasing footplate stiffness, where walking with the rigid footplate was comparable to shod walking. Similar effects were found for positive mechanical work. INTERPRETATION: A rigid footplate increases the lever of the foot, resulting in an increased ankle moment and energy storage and release of the orthosis' posterior leaf-spring as reflected in higher ankle joint power. This effect dominates the power generation of the foot, which was highest with the intermediate footplate stiffness. Future studies should focus on how tuning footplate stiffness could contribute to optimizing ankle-foot orthosis efficacy in clinical populations.
