A comparison of augmented low-Dye taping and ankle bracing on lower limb muscle activity during walking in adults with flat-arched foot posture

Objective: To compare the effect of taping and bracing on lower limb muscle activity during gait. Design: Cross-sectional laboratory study. Methods: Twenty-seven asymptomatic adults with flat-arched foot posture were recruited to this study. They walked over-ground under three randomly allocated conditions: (i) barefoot; (ii) augmented low-Dye taping; (iii) replaceable ankle brace. Electromyographic (EMG) activity from tibialis posterior, tibialis anterior, peroneus longus and medial gastrocnemius was measured for each condition. Peak EMG amplitude and time of peak EMG amplitude were assessed from stance phase data. A series of one-way repeated measure analysis of variance followed by Bonferroni post hoc tests were undertaken (α = 0.05). Results: Tibialis posterior peak EMG amplitude decreased by 22% and 33% with bracing and taping (respectively), compared to barefoot. Peak amplitude was also decreased for peroneus longus by 34% and 30% and for tibialis anterior by 19% and 13% with bracing and taping (respectively), compared to barefoot. Small significant changes in time of peak EMG amplitude were found for tibialis posterior and tibialis anterior with taping and bracing compared to barefoot. The effect of taping and bracing was only different for tibialis posterior peak EMG amplitude, with tape producing a 15% reduction compared to bracing. Conclusion: The augmented low-Dye tape and replaceable ankle brace used in this study could be useful in managing overuse and dysfunction of selected leg muscles, particularly tibialis posterior, by reducing their level of activation during walking.