Prevalence of isolated gastrocnemius tightness in patients with foot and ankle pathology – a population based study

Category: Other Introduction/Purpose: Gastrocnemius tightness (GT) is thought to predispose patients to multiple musculoskeletal pathologies including back pain, plantar fasciitis, and metatarsalgia. It is thought to be especially prevalent in patients with foot and ankle pathology (FAP) and consequently there is an emerging trend to perform lengthening / release procedures in this patient group. However, it is not clear what proportion of the normal population has GT and how this differs in patients with FAP. We set out to investigate what the incidence and degree of GT in the foot and ankle population is compared to the normal population. Methods: This was a prospective study comparing GT in a cohort of patients with FAP with GT in controls matched for age, gender, and ethnicity. The control group consisted of healthy adult volunteers and the FAP group consisted of patients presenting to our Foot & Ankle unit. Patients with previous surgery, tendoachilles tightness, or ankle arthritis were excluded. GT was measured using a digital inclinometer and the lunge test. It was calculated as the difference between maximal ankle dorsiflexion with the knee extended and with the knee flexed. Data on the control group was collected first and a power calculation suggested a FAP cohort size of 91 feet was required to detect a 2° difference in GT (a= 0.05, ß = 0.05, Ratio 3:1). Results: After case-matching 97 FAP cases were paired with 291 controls for analysis. Mean GT was 8.0° ±5.7° (range: 0-21°) in FAP patients versus 6.0° ±3.5° (range: 0-16°) in controls (p