The ‘Abductory Twist’

What is it?
The abductory twist is a sudden medial or inward snap of the heel bone just has it comes off the ground It is a fairly common observation made during a gait analysis.

What does the abductory twist look like?

Is it of any clinical significance?
No. It is just an observation and not a diagnosis of a problem.

What causes it?
there are two theories as to what might be causing the abductory twist:
1. As the foot ‘overprontes’ it rotates the tibia in an internal direction an excessive amount at the same time that motion at the hip coming from above is trying to externally rotate the leg. When the heel comes off the ground, that lack of friction from the ground suddenly allows that external rotation to occur. This could explain that appearance of the abductory twist.
2. A functional limitation of dorsiflexion at the first metatarso-phalangeal joint (a functional hallux limitus) can limit flexion at the first MPJ joint as the heel comes off the ground, so the foot has to suddenly abduct to roll around the side of that joint to move forward.

Many like to claim that this is due to functional problems more proximal around the hip, but those that do that are generally confusing the abductory twist with the medial heel whip which occurs later on in the gait cycle and could be due to issues around the hip or other proximal problems.

More:
https://podiapaedia.org/wiki/biomechanics/clinical-biomechanics/biomechanical-assessment/gait-analysis/abductory-twist/
https://podiatryarena.com/index.php?tags/abductory-twist/
http://www.runresearchjunkie.com/the-abductory-twist-during-gait/