A rocker bottom is designed to

• A. Builds up sole of the shoe over the met heads and improves push-off in weak or inflexible feet
• B. Shortens gait duration
• C. Prevent subtalar motion
• D. Increases knee flexion

Answer: (A)

A rocker bottom works by creating a curved sole that lets the foot roll smoothly from heel to toe, reducing the amount of ankle dorsiflexion and big-toe/or forefoot effort needed during push-off. By building up the sole over the metatarsal heads, a forefoot rocker reduces the demand on the joints and muscles that propel the body forward, making push-off easier for feet that are weak or inflexible. This helps patients who have limited foot flexibility or weakness to maintain forward progression without requiring strong toe-off. The other options don’t describe this mechanism: the design isn’t about shortening gait duration, preventing subtalar motion, or directly increasing knee flexion.