Department of Occupational Therapy, Chosun University, Gwangju, Republic of Korea.
Department of Physical Therapy, Busan Paik Hospital, Busan, Republic of Korea.
Medicine (Baltimore). 2023 Jul 14;102(28):e34343. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000034343.
An ankle foot orthosis (AFO) is a standard type of orthosis applied to immediately treat foot drop symptoms. Kinesiology taping (KT) is a therapeutic method used in patients with neurological diseases, such as stroke, as well as in patients after orthopedic and sports injuries. This study aimed to compare outcomes of AFO treatment with those of KT to investigate the effect on gait ability in patients with foot drop after stroke. We recruited 18 patients exhibiting foot drop from stroke. Gait ability was assessed under 2 conditions: treatment with KT and that with AFO using the GAITRite system according to the following parameters: cadence, velocity, swing time, stance time, step length, and stride length. As a result, gait ability after treatment with KT and that after treatment with AFO showed no significant differences in cadence (P = .851), velocity (P = .865), swing time (P = .289 and .123), stance time (P = .255 and .711), step length (P = .955 and .975), and stride length (P = .711 and .690) of the affected and less-affected limbs. This study demonstrated that KT and AFO use have similar effects on gait function in patients with foot drop after stroke. Thus, treatment of foot drop with KT may be an alternative in patients for whom AFO use is contraindicated.
踝足矫形器（AFO）是一种标准类型的矫形器，用于立即治疗足下垂症状。运动学贴扎（KT）是一种在患有神经系统疾病（如中风）的患者以及在骨科和运动损伤后的患者中使用的治疗方法。本研究旨在比较 AFO 治疗和 KT 治疗对中风后足下垂患者步态能力的影响。我们招募了 18 名患有中风足下垂的患者。使用 GAITRite 系统根据以下参数评估步态能力：步频、速度、摆动时间、站立时间、步长和跨步长。结果，KT 治疗和 AFO 治疗后的步态能力在步频（P =.851）、速度（P =.865）、摆动时间（P =.289 和.123）、站立时间（P =.255 和.711）、步长（P =.955 和.975）和跨步长（P =.711 和.690）方面无显著差异。本研究表明，KT 和 AFO 在中风后足下垂患者的步态功能方面具有相似的效果。因此，KT 治疗可能是对 AFO 治疗禁忌的患者的一种替代治疗方法。
