Role of ankle foot orthoses in the outcome of clinical tests of balance.

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of ankle foot orthoses (AFOs) on the outcome of balance assessment. METHODS Ten healthy subjects participated in clinical tests of balance with and without bilateral ankle foot orthoses (AFOs). The following clinical tests were performed: the Modified Clinical Test of Sensory Interaction on Balance (MCTSIB), the Limits of Stability (LOS) and the Functional Reach test. RESULTS A statistically significant effect of AFOs was seen in the outcomes of the MCTSIB test (p = 0.042), LOS test (p = 0.021) and Reach test (p = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS The results indicate that the use of AFOs may impede the performance of clinical tests of balance. This outcome should be taken into consideration while performing balance evaluations with patient populations in the clinic.