Clinical trial NCT05692791: Idiopathic Toe-Walking Position Sensation
Official title: The Relationship Between Two-point Discrimination and Position Perception in Children Who Have Idiopathic Toe Walk
Study type: OBSERVATIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Conditions: Gait Disorder, Sensorimotor
Keywords: Idiopathic Toe Walking
Lead sponsor: Kirsehir Ahi Evran Universitesi
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2023-01-20
Enrollment: 94
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 3
Maximum age (years): 10
Standard ages: CHILD
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Observational model: COHORT
Time perspective: PROSPECTIVE
Sampling method: PROBABILITY_SAMPLE
Study population: Children who have idiopathic toe walking in the experimental group and healthy children in the control group with the same ages.

Brief summary: The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of plantar two-point discrimination on hip-knee-ankle position sense in children with toe walking.The main questions it aims to answer are:

* Are two-point discrimination and light pressure sensation in the plantar region affected in children with idiopathic toe gait?
* Does the two-point discrimination in the plantar in general and the heel in particular affect the position sense of the hip-knee and ankle?

Detailed description: Children who tend to walk on toes after they should have developed a heel-toe gait are diagnosed with idiopathic toe walking (ITW).Cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, and orthopaedic problems such congenital talipes equinus are some of the diseases that are frequently linked to a toe-walking gait. A diagnosis of ITW is made when there is no physical or medical cause for the absence of a heel strike. Five percent of healthy children are estimated to have ITW, and boys are more likely than girls to be affected. Reduced ankle range of motion is prevalent symptom in children with ITW. Since ITW often manifests as symmetrical tiptoe walking in children, reports showing a comparable bilateral reduction in ankle range of motion at both lower limbs indicate the symmetrical character of this gait type. Lower vibration perception thresholds, a tendency to be left-handed, and noticeable variations in sensory seeking and modulation scores are all characteristics of children with an ITW gait.

The small fibers that innervate the cutaneous receptors (such as Merkel's cell, Pacinian corpuscles, Meissner's corpuscles, and Ruffini endings in the skin) are more crucial for postural control than the large fibers that innervate the major muscle spindles and the Golgi tendon organs. Standing balance control is more dependent on Merkel's cells and Ruffini endings (slow adapting receptors), which are in charge of touch and pressure sensitivity, than it is on Meissner's and Pacinian corpuscles (rapid adapting receptors), which are in charge of vibrotactile sensitivity.Additionally, it has been demonstrated that tactile sensation in the foot sole affects the activity of the tibialis anterior muscle as well as the regulation of gait pattern at lower limb joints. These investigations support the notion that cutaneous feeling is crucial for preserving postural and gait stability.The literature states that plantar pressure and sensory changes have disruptive effects on postural control.The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of plantar two-point discrimination on hip-knee-ankle position sense in children with toe walking.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Having idiopathic toe walking diagnosis

Exclusion Criteria:

* Having another known neuromuscular disease

Primary outcomes:
measure: Hip-Knee-Ankle Joint Position Sense
timeFrame: 15 weeks
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Kırşehir
country: Turkey
facility: Ahi Evran University
Study officials:
References:
citation: Silva PG, Jones A, Araujo PM, Natour J. Assessment of light touch sensation in the hands of systemic sclerosis patients. Clinics (Sao Paulo). 2014 Sep;69(9):585-8. doi: 10.6061/clinics/2014(09)02.
citation: Westberry DE, Davids JR, Davis RB, de Morais Filho MC. Idiopathic toe walking: a kinematic and kinetic profile. J Pediatr Orthop. 2008 Apr-May;28(3):352-8. doi: 10.1097/BPO.0b013e318168d996.