The effect of casting combined with stretching on passive ankle dorsiflexion in adults with traumatic head injuries.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Ankle plantar-flexion contractures are a common problem following traumatic head injury. Although serial casting is used to correct and prevent ankle plantar-flexion contractures, treatment efficacy has not been evaluated using an experimental design. The aim of this research was to establish the effect of a regimen of casting combined with stretching on passive ankle dorsiflexion motion.

SUBJECTS: Nine people who had sustained traumatic closed head injuries and had limited dorsiflexion motion participated in the study.

METHODS

A crossover design was used in the study. Subjects were assigned to both experimental and control groups. Torque-controlled measurements of passive ankle dorsiflexion motion were obtained for all subjects before and after 1 week of casting combined with stretching, as well as before and after a 1-week control period. The order of the experimental and control conditions was randomized.

RESULTS

Passive ankle dorsiflexion increased by a mean of 13.5 degrees (SD = 9.3) during the experimental condition, as compared with a mean decrease of 1.9 degrees (SD = 10.2) during the control condition. The difference between the experimental and control conditions was statistically significant.

CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION: These findings suggest that casting combined with stretching is an effective method of correcting ankle plantar-flexion contractures in patients with traumatic head injuries.