Influence of ankle-foot orthoses on gait symmetry in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy: A prospective, cross-sectional study

	Group 1	Group 2	Group 3
	M ± SD	M ± SD	M ± SD
Age (years)	7.5 ± 1.7	7.4 ± 1.9	7.2 ± 1.9
Body height (m)	1.19 ± 0.1	1.24 ± 0.12	1.21 ± 0.12
Body mass (kg)	23.8 ± 5.7	26.6 ± 6.3	25 ± 6.2

Table 2

Gait speed, width, and frequency of steps in the studied groups of children

Orthosis	Group 1	Group 2	Group 3
	Gait speed [m/s]
	M ± SD	M ± SD	M ± SD
No	0.96 ± 0.22	0.90 ^& ± 0.23	0.85 ^& ± 0.24
Yes	—	0.97 ± 0.24	0.96 ± 0.25
	Step width [m]
	M ± SD	M ± SD	M ± SD
No	0.16 ± 0.03	0.16 ^& ± 0.02	0.16 ^& ± 0.02
Yes	—	0.17 ± 0.03	0.18 ± 0.03
	Step frequency [steps/min]
	M ± SD	M ± SD	M ± SD
No	116 ± 13	120 ± 18	119 ± 18
Yes	—	113 ± 11	114 ± 11

[i] & – without vs with orthoses, p < 0.05.

Table 3

Characteristics of range of motion in the ankle joint during the gait cycle and its phases (sagittal plane)

Orthosis	Group 1		Group 2		Group 3
	Affected s.	Unaffected s.	Affected s.	Unaffected s.	Affected s.	Unaffected s.
	Range of motion during gait cycle [°]
No	29.49 ± 7.22	28.14 ± 3.75	27.31 ± 6.48	28.04 ± 3.99	26.35 ± 5.82	28.25 ± 3.78
Yes	—	—	21.23* ± 4.35	32.98 ^# ± 5.40	20.98* ± 4.41	23.18* ± 5.72
	Range of motion during stance phase [°]
No	23.74 ± 6.06	22.63 ± 5.19	21.48 ^& ± 8.00	23.78 ± 5.65	20.05 ^& ± 6.07	22.28 ± 5.09
Yes	—	—	18.40* ± 3.85	22.87 ± 7.57	17.94* ± 4.77	19.49 ± 4.45
	Range of motion during swing phase [°]
No	13.51 ± 7.76	17.91 ± 4.21	14.71 ± 6.53	15.43 ± 5.19	14.92 ± 8.11	16.04 ± 7.72
Yes	—	—	10.91* ± 5.98	24.59 ^# ± 5.47	10.23* ± 5.79	12.29 ± 4.54

[i] * – affected vs unaffected side p < 0.05.

[ii] # – Group 2 vs Group 3, p < 0.05.

[iii] & – without vs with orthoses, p < 0.05.

Table 4

Characteristics of range of motion in the knee joint during gait cycle and its phases (sagittal plane)

Orthosis	Group 1		Group 2		Group 3
	Affected s.	Unaffected s.	Affected s.	Unaffected s.	Affected s.	Unaffected s.
	Range of motion during gait cycle [°]
No	52.58 ± 11.79	50.98 ± 7.18	49.38 ^& ± 11.39	55.84 ^& ± 7.82	52.26 ^& ± 13.60	54.28 ^& ± 7.12
Yes	—	—	53.30 ± 12.49	60.64 ± 3.85	58.81 ± 13.40	62.49 ± 4.43
	Range of motion during stance phase [°]
No	28.52 ± 11.06	26.96 ± 10.06	25.53 ± 9.74	34.97 ± 15.13	27.06 ± 16.63	32.59 ± 14.16
Yes	—	—	26.97 ± 7.96	29.62 ± 7.41	29.67 ± 11.62	31.17 ± 7.71
	Range of motion during swing phase [°]
No	45.28* ± 10.89	46.61 ± 6.93	39.58 ^*& ± 10.59	49.72 ^& ± 4.95	43.17 ^*& ± 11.51	49.15 ^& ± 7.69
Yes	—	—	43.59* ± 16.43	56.01 ± 5.33	49.45* ± 15.16	56.12 ± 4.67

[i] affected side, p < 0.05.

[ii] & – without vs with orthoses p < 0.05.

[iii] * – affected vs unaffected.

Table 5

Characteristics of range of motion in hip joint during gait cycle and its phases (sagittal plane)

Orthosis	Group 1		Group 2		Group 3
	Affected s.	Unaffected s.	Affected s.	Unaffected s.	Affected s.	Unaffected s.
	Range of motion during gait cycle [°]
No	45.12* ± 8.27	47.88 ^# ± 7.70	45.66 ^*& ± 8.02	54.96 ^& ± 7.71	46.27 ^*& ± 7.73	50.48 ^& ± 6.83
Yes	—	—	48.43 ± 6.95	57.13 ± 6.86	49.96 ± 6.13	56.60 ± 7.41
	Range of motion during stance phase [°]
No	36.37* ± 6.81	46.46 ± 7.97	39.84 ^*& ± 8.72	52.76 ^& ± 9.25	41.53 ^*& ± 7.87	47.97 ^& ± 8.72
Yes	—	—	44.09* ± 8.40	54.32 ± 9.01	47.43* ± 6.13	54.37 ± 8.79
	Range of motion during swing phase [°]
No	33.96 ± 7.95	37.97 ± 8.83	36.96 ^& ± 6.37	36.64 ^& ± 12.20	37.85 ^& ± 7.86	34.19 ^& ± 13.60
Yes	—	—	42.62 ± 6.29	47.38 ± 6.78	43.47 ± 6.43	47.65 ± 7.10

[i] # – Group 1 vs Group 2, p < 0.05.

[ii] * – affected vs unaffected side, p < 0.05.

[iii] & – without vs with orthoses, p < 0.05.

Table 6

Characteristics of pelvic range of motion in gait cycle and its phases (sagittal plane)

Orthosis	Group 1		Group 2		Group 3
	Affected s.	Unaffected s.	Affected s.	Unaffected s.	Affected s.	Unaffected s.
	Range of motion during gait cycle [°]
No	7.35 ± 3.26	7.27 ± 3.21	7.83 ± 2.86	7.89 ± 2.86	6.75 ± 2.60	6.85 ± 2.36
Yes	—	—	8.58 ± 3.38	8.42 ± 3.17	7.17 ± 3.03	7.13 ± 3.17
	Range of motion during stance phase [°]
No	6.37 ± 3.34	6.71 ± 3.46	6.91 ± 2.67	7.43 ± 3.27	6.16 ± 2.59	6.28 ± 2.81
Yes	—	—	7.29 ± 3.06	7.39 ± 3.76	6.73 ± 2.99	6.50 ± 3.59
	Range of motion during swing phase [°]
No	6.05* ± 3.83	4.23 ± 2.22	6.48* ± 3.93	3.47 ^& ± 1.49	4.61* ± 3.35	3.55 ^& ± 1.67
Yes	—	—	6.51 ± 4.47	5.16 ± 2.77	4.55 ± 4.35	5.93 ± 2.80

[i] * – affected vs unaffected side, p < 0.05.

[ii] & – without vs with orthoses, p < 0.05.

References

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.37190/abb/220649 | Journal eISSN: 2450-6303 | Journal ISSN: 1509-409X

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Language: English

Page range: 107 - 119

Submitted on: Jan 13, 2026

Accepted on: Apr 14, 2026

Published on: Oct 15, 2026

Published by: Wroclaw University of Science and Technology

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Publication frequency: 4 issues per year

Keywords:

Gait,

Related subjects:

Bioengineering and biomedical engineering,

Cellular and tissue engineering,

Biomechanics,

Medicine,

Biomedical engineering,

Materials sciences,

Biomaterials and natural materials

© 2026 Robert Staszkiewicz, Anna Strus, published by Wroclaw University of Science and Technology
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Volume 28 (2026): Issue 1 (March 2026)