Managing Post-Operative Complications in a Patient with Unilateral Excessive Ankle Stiffness, Addressing Symmetry of Muscles Strength, Passive Stiffness and Plantar Pressure: a Case Study

This research paper aims to investigate the effect of Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization (IASTM) and Faradic Electrotherapy (FES) on lower limb symmetry of muscle strength, plantar pressure and range of motion (ROM) in a patient with excessive ankle stiffness. The study was conducted on a single patient who had been diagnosed with ankle stiffness, decreased muscle strength due to ۳.۵ years immobilization of ankle joint and was experiencing difficulty in walking. The patient underwent a ۱۲-week intervention program that included IASTM and FES. The plantar and dorsiflexion muscle torque, ROM and plantar pressure measured using a isokinetic and plantar distributionsystem before and after the intervention and symmetry of two limbs were calculated for pre and post-test. The results showed an improvement in the Ratio Index of the dorsi- and plantar-flexion peak torque, ROM, and gait line length after a ۱۲-week intervention. The findings of this study suggest that IASTM and FES can be used as effective interventions for regaining the symmetry in patients with post-operation complications. Further research on more patients is required.

Keywords:

contact time , path length , torque , cop trajectory , ratio index