- Title
- Calf muscle stretching is ineffective in increasing ankle range of motion or reducing plantar pressures in people with diabetes and ankle equinus: a randomised controlled trial
- Creator
- Searle, Angela; Spink, Martin J.; Oldmeadow, Christopher; Chiu, Simon; Chuter, Vivienne H.
- Relation
- Clinical Biomechanics Vol. 69, Issue October 2019, p. 52-57
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.clinbiomech.2019.07.005
- Publisher
- Pergamon Press
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2019
- Description
- Background: Limited ankle dorsiflexion, or equinus, is associated with elevated plantar pressures, which have been implicated in the development and non-healing of foot ulcer. A stretching intervention may increase ankle dorsiflexion and reduce plantar pressures in people with diabetes. Methods: Two arm parallel randomised controlled trial from September 2016 to October 2017. Adults with diabetes and ankle equinus (=5° dorsiflexion) were randomly allocated to receive an 8 week static calf stretching intervention or continue with their normal activities. Primary outcome measures were change in weight bearing and non-weight bearing ankle dorsiflexion and forefoot peak plantar pressure. Secondary outcome measures were forefoot pressure time integrals and adherence to the stretching intervention. Findings: 68 adults (mean (standard deviation) age and diabetes duration 67.4 (10.9) years and 14.0 (10.8) years, 64.7% male) were randomised to stretch (n = 34) or usual activity (n = 34). At follow up, no significant differences were seen between groups (adjusted mean difference) for non-weight (+1.3°, 95% CI:-0.3 to 2.9, p = 0.101) and weight bearing ankle dorsiflexion (+0.5°, 95% CI:-2.6 to 3.6, p = 0.743) or forefoot in-shoe (+1.5 kPa, 95% CI:-10.0 to 12.9, p = 0.803) or barefoot peak pressures (-19.1 kPa, 95% CI:-96.4 to 58.1, p = 0.628). Seven of the intervention group and two of the control group were lost to follow up. Interpretation: Our data failed to show a statistically significant or clinically meaningful effect of static calf muscle stretching on ankle range of motion, or plantar pressures, in people with diabetes and ankle equinus.
- Subject
- ankle; diabetes mellitus; pressure; dorsiflexion; equinus; stretching
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1405438
- Identifier
- uon:35488
- Identifier
- ISSN:0268-0033
- Rights
- © 2019. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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