MUSCLE ABNORMALITIES IN IDIOPATHIC TOE-WALKERS

The cause of tow-walking is unknown. Muscle biopsies were taken from a group of 25 toe-walkers who were treated at this hospital to try to i dentify the pathological cause of the condition. The most common abnor mality noted was an increase in the proportion of type I muscle fibers with type grouping; other less common changes included the presence o f angulated atrophic fibers and thickened capillaries and cases in whi ch occasional fibers were undergoing active degeneration and regenerat ion. The combination of these changes suggests that there may be an un derlying neuropathic process in idiopathic toe-walkers.