Treating symptomatic flexible flatfoot deformities. a novel technique: comparison of uc berkeley laboratory foot orthosis with and without kinesio taping in juvenil athletes.

Abstract

Symptomatic flexible pes planus(SFPP)can cause pain anddiscomfortwhen walking or engaging in sportive activitiesin children and adolescents. SFPP can be treated conservatively with foot orthoses, such as the University of California Berkeley Laboratory (UCBL)foot orthosis, which can improve foot function and reduce pain. Kinesio Tape(KT) has also beenused as an adjunct to foot orthoses in the treatment of pes planus. This study aims to compare the effectiveness of the UCBL foot orthosis with and without KTin the treatment of SFPPamong amateur juvenile and adolescent athletes. Fiftypatients with SFPP were included in the study. In 27 patients UCBL foot orthosis with KT(group 1)was used whereas in 23 UCBL(group 2)was preferred only. The patients were evaluated withAOFASandradiologicalmeasurements. The mean follow-up period was28.6 ± 4.3(26) months.At the final follow-up AOFAS of group 1 was significantly higher than group 2.In group2, 12 patients (%52,17) had pressure sores that caused superficial dermabrasion.LateralTFMAs andtalocalcaneal angleingroup 1wassignificantlybetterthangroup 2. This study attempted to determine if using KT with the UCBL foot orthosis was beneficial to the treatment of SFPP compared to simply wearing the orthosis. Our results suggest that KT is effective in reducing pronation and improving the AOFAS score. The use of UCBL with KT seems to be preferable in children and adolescents with SFPP since it is associated witha lower rate of complication, a higher degree of patientcomplianceand faster improvement in the radiological and clinical findings, compared to the use of the UCBL orthosis alone.