Motor abilities in 182 children treated for idiopathic clubfoot: a comparison between the traditional and the Ponseti method and controls

PURPOSE: The aim of the study was to examine motor abilities in children treated for idiopathic clubfoot with either the traditional extensive surgery method or the Ponseti method, and compare their motor skills with a control group without clubfoot. METHODS: A total of 89 children treated according to the traditional method (mean age 9.0 years, 7 to 10) and 93 treated ad modum Ponseti (mean age 8.8 years, 7 to 10) were recruited from a multicentre clinical study in Norway. A total of 45 age-matched children without clubfoot were recruited from a nearby school. They were all assessed with the Movement Assessment Battery for Children – Second Edition (MABC-2), which evaluates motor performance. We applied Analysis of Covariance for comparison of the two treatment methods and adjusted for gender, laterality, comorbidity, achillotomy or more extended surgery, physiotherapy and the age when the child walked independently. RESULTS: We found no significant difference in any of the various components or the total score of the MABC-2 between patients treated with the two different methods. In all, 76% of the children treated according to the traditional method and ad modum Ponseti, and 96% in the control group, respectively, were classified as having normal motor abilities. CONCLUSION: About three-quarters of children aged nine years and treated for idiopathic clubfoot had normal motor abilities. We found similar results in patients treated with the traditional method and the Ponseti method. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II