Journal of Pain & Relief
Open Access

Abstract

Introduction: There is a growing prevalence of biomechanical alterations in the lower limbs in school-age children. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a therapeutic exercise program (TEP) in child athletes with lower limb overpronation during gait. Method: Relevant databases (PubMed and SCOPUS) were used. A total of 123 young athletes (aged 9–12 years) were evaluated, of which 20 had lower limb overpronation (n=40 lowers extremities). All subjects underwent biomechanical analysis including all relevant angles, as follows: the Helbing angle, the tibiofemoral angle, and the Fick angle in both limbs. The sample was randomly allocated to: a control group (CG=10 subjets) whose no had treatment for three months; and an experimental group (EG10 subjects) whose the children participated in a TEP intervention program for three further months. Results: At the beginning, a CG had tibiofemoral angle169.34±0.87º, helbing angle 10.08±4.02º and fick angle 6.93±3.00º; and EG had tibiofemoral angle168.80±1.98º, helbing angle 10.65±4.17º and fick angle 5.35±3.00º. After the intervention, a CG had tibiofemoral angle 168.92±1.73º, helbing angle 9.25±3.16º and fick angle 8.95±3.49º; and EG had tibiofemoral angle 172.75±2.45º, helbing angle 5.05±1.36º and fick angle 11.58±1.50º. In EC, all biomechanical parameters significantly improved (p<0.001 for three angles), and all subjects in the case group adopted a nearly normal gait pattern. Conclusions: Our three-month TEP-based intervention was efficient in making young athletes with a pathological gait pattern adopt a normal gait pattern.

Biography

De la Cruz has completed his PhD from University Pablo de Olavide, Seville, Spain. She has a Masters in Physical Activity and Sport Sciences from University of Granada (Spain) and a Bachelor in Physical Therapy from University of Seville (Spain). She has published more than 10 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as a reviewer of reputed journals. She is coordinator of Sport Physiotherapy Group of SAMEDE.

Email: bcruz@us.es