Special Issue
Dr Bharti Arora
Abstract
The aging process leads to balance disorders that can increase the number of falls. Considering the prevalence of fall, impaired balance, ankle instability ,impaired proprioception, they can hinder activity of daily living.TheKinesio Taping is a method that aims at improving muscle performance, proprioception, coordination and balance. The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect on balance & gait in community dwelling elderly population when bilateral ankle taping is applied. We evaluated 50 elderly subjects , with an average age of 65±5 years, who were divided into two groups: the Kinesio Taping group, in which the elderly subjects including both male & female (n=25) were included and Control, where the elderly subjects included male & female (n=25) received a placebo tape (3M Micropore). Both groups were evaluated pre & post application of kinesio tape & sham tape at day 1 without application, day 1 with application of tape and at day 7 of application & then at 14th day after removal of tape for checking the residual effect. Tape was changed at the 7th day and was applied again on the same day by Time Up & Go Test & Hand Held Dynamometer for checking balance & strength .the finding indicated that there was no statistically significant difference between the group for ankle muscle strength but kinesio tape was able to improve the balance by decreasing the time duration to cover the distance and hence enhance the walking ability therefore ankle balance taping is an alternative to prevent and treat the impaired balance in geriatric population.