Articles
Publication Date: 2026
Physiotherapy Theory and Practice (15325040)
Background: Ankle musculature serves as active dynamic stabilizers, yet conventional assessment focusing solely on peak torque fails to capture critical aspects of neuromuscular control. The ability to generate accurate, steady forces is paramount for functional joint stability. External supports may modulate sensorimotor function, potentially improving force control. Objective: To compare the effectiveness of bracing and taping on the quantity and quality of evertor muscle force. Methods: Sixty participants (18–40 years old) with chronic ankle instability, were randomly allocated to 3 groups: ankle orthosis, kinesio tape, and a control group. Evertor muscle strength, force sense, force steadiness, and kinesiophobia were evaluated at the baseline and at the end of week 4. Results: The group × time interaction effects were significant for concentric evertor strength at both angular velocities of 60°/s and 120°/s. While orthosis group and kinesio tape group demonstrated significant within-group changes, there was no difference between the two intervention groups (p =.771; dppc2 = −0.17 at angular velocity of 60°/s, and at angular velocity of 120 °/s p =.930; dppc2 = 0.35), between orthosis group and control group (p =.883; dppc2 = 0.76 at angular velocity 60°/s, and p =.800; dppc2 = 0.71 at angular velocity 120°/s), or between kinesio tape group and control group (p =.975; dppc2 = 1.08, and p =.959; dppc2 = 0.39 at 60°/s, and 120°/s respectively). The group × time interaction effect was also significant for kinesiophobia, but there was no significant difference between the two intervention groups, between orthosis group and control group, and between kinesio tape group and control group. The main effects of time were significant for all variables, except for force sense. Conclusion: Both ankle orthosis and kinesio tape application for four weeks significantly improved evertor muscle strength and reduced kinesiophobia, with notable trends toward improved force steadiness. These findings support their use as effective interventions for enhancing ankle neuromuscular function and mitigating fear of movement. © 2026 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
Publication Date: 2025
Physiotherapy Theory and Practice (15325040)41(1)pp. 44-53
Background: In hallux valgus, morphological changes and functional weakness of intrinsic foot muscles occur, especially in the abductor hallucis muscle. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate how a conservative treatment with the addition of neuromuscular electrical stimulation affects the volume and strength of the muscle, the correction of deformity, passive range of motion, pain, and disability. Methods: Twenty-eight female participants (48 feet) were randomly assigned to two groups. The interventions included orthoses and exercise (Ortho) in both groups. One group received additional neuromuscular electrical stimulation of abductor hallucis muscle to activate it. Each group received the treatments for one month and was assessed two times, at baseline before starting and after one month of treatment. Mixed within-between ANOVA, analysis of covariance, and nonparametric tests were used for data analysis. Results: The muscle volume, abduction strength, goniometric angle, and passive hallux dorsi/plantar flexion showed significant changes in both groups (p <.001). Subscales of the foot and ankle ability questionnaire, significantly changed (p ≤.05). Pain decreased significantly in the two groups (p <.001 and p =.02). Intermetatarsal angle did not significantly differ between the two groups (p =.86, partial eta effect size = 0.001). But, the hallux valgus angle mean (on MRI) in the Ortho group was less than that of the orthoNMES group (p =.007, partial eta effect size = 0.15). Conclusion: Both groups showed nearly identical treatment effects in the primary volume and hallux valgus correction outcome measures. In this study, adding neuromuscular electrical stimulation did not have an additional effect compared to conservative in the treatment of hallux valgus. Trial registration number: The RCT Code is IRCT20200915048725N1. © 2024 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
Publication Date: 2025
Scientific Reports (20452322)15(1)
Center-of-pressure (CoP) oscillations represent the neuromuscular system’s response to control the body’s center of mass. In older adults, hyperkyphosis alters body alignment, increases sway, and impairs proprioception. While some studies have explored hyperkyphosis effects on CoP displacements, the underlying neuromuscular mechanisms remain underexplored. This studyinvestigated hyperkyphosis impacts on the postural control using the stabilogram diffusion analysis (SDA) to assess interplay between open and closed-loop control. Thirty-eight older adults with a mean kyphosis angle of 57.8 ± 8.4° and 34 controls with a mean kyphosis angle of 38.4 ± 4.9°, participated. CoP parameters, including trajectory range, velocity in the anterior–posterior (AP), mediolateral (ML), and planar (R) directions, sway area per unit time, and SDA, were measured during bipedal standing in eyes-open (EO) and eyes-closed (EC) conditions. Results showed significantly higher short-term effective diffusion coefficients in the ML (p = 0.016), AP (p = 0.011), and R-directions (p = 0.007), as well as critical displacement in the AP-direction (p = 0.048), and CoP velocity in R-direction (p = 0.046) in the hyperkyphotic group. Conversely, critical time interval in R-direction (p = 0.034) was lower compared to controls. EC increased short-term effective diffusion coefficient in all directions, critical displacement in the AP, and R-directions, sway area per unit time, CoP velocity in all directions, trajectory range in the AP (p < 0.001) and ML-directions (p = 0.047). EO showed higher long-term diffusion coefficients in the AP and R-directions (p < 0.001), and critical time intervals in the AP (p = 0.014) and R-direction (p = 0.003). Hyperkyphosis impairs open-loop control and reliance on closed-loop mechanisms, potentially delays responses and increases fall risk in older adults. © The Author(s) 2025.
