Abstract: Equinus, varus, cavus, and adduction are typical signs of congenital talipes equinovarus (CTEV). Forefoot adduction remains a difficulty from using previous corrective methods. This study aims to develop a corrective method to reduce the severity of forefoot adduction of CTEV children with moderate deformities during their walking age. The devised method was compared with 2 other common corrective methods to evaluate its effectiveness.

A Dennis Brown (DB) splint, DB splint with orthopedic shoes (OS), and forefoot abduct shoes (FAS) with OS were, respectively, applied to 15, 20, and 18 CTEV children with moderate deformities who were scored at their first visit according to the Dime´glio classification. The mean follow-up was 44 months and the orthoses were changed as the children grew. A 3D scanner and a high-resolution pedobarograph were used to record morphological characteristics and plantar pressure distribution. One-way MAVONA analysis was used to compare the bimalleolar angle, bean–shape ratio, and pressure ratios in each study group.

There were significant differences in the FASþOS group compared to the DB and DBþOS groups (P<0.05) for most measurements. The most salient differences were as follows: the FASþOS group had a significantly greater bimalleolar angle (P<0.05) and lower bean–shape ratio (P<0.01) than the other groups; the DBþOS and FASþOS groups had higher heel/forefoot and heel/LMF ratios (P<0.01 and P<0.001) than the DB group.

FAS are critical for correcting improper forefoot adduction and OS are important for the correction of equinus and varus in moderately afflicted CTEV children. This study suggests that the use of FASþOS may improve treatment outcomes for moderate CTEV children who do not show signs of serious torsional deformity.