Short Term Efficacy of Combination Taping Technique as an Alternative to Ankle Foot Orthosis on Improving Gait Parameters in Spastic Cerebral Palsy: A Controlled Randomized Study

Gait in children with spastic CP is often characterized by abnormal gait kinematics as knee flexion and equines foot which associated with such gait deviations, an elevated walking energy cost is often observed which may contribute to activity limitations.

The ability to maintain proper joint alignment of the lower extremity, and control the position of the foot in standing and walking is a critical treatment objective for gait in children with cerebral palsy. Lower extremity orthoses, such as ankle-foot orthoses (AFOs) are widely recommended in children with spastic cerebral palsy to prevent the development or progression of this deformity and to improve the dynamic efficiency of the child's gait. The use of Kinesio taping in pediatric rehabilitation becomes increasingly popular in recent years. Recent systematic reviews reported moderate evidence that Kinesiology taping is a useful adjunct to physiotherapy intervention in higher functioning children with CP. Combination tapings is a technique first introduced by Kenzo Kase, in which Kinesio taping is coupled with the rigid athletic tape to maximize the treatment benefits. This approach remains briefly addressed in the literature with no prior studies has examined the effects of combination tapings in the CP pediatric population. Hypothesis: there is no difference between the effect of combining tapings and ankle-foot orthosis on spatiotemporal gait parameters in spastic cerebral palsied