The effects of kinesio taping on leg muscle activations during standing and walking and dynamic postural control in children with developmental coordination discorder

Abstract

Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is a neurodevelopmental movement disorder with a prevalence rate of up to 8.6% in school-aged children. Children with DCD often present with neuromuscular and dynamic postural control (balance) deficits which disrupt their daily activities including locomotion. The neuromuscular and functional deficits negatively impact motor skills development and are likely to persist to adulthood. Interventions should target specifically and efficiently to these deficits. Kinesio tape (KT) is a type of body-adhesive tape that is commonly used to enhance muscular and motor performances in athletes. It has been postulated that KT stimulates the cutaneous receptors to normalize muscle tone and to facilitate muscle activations. It is plausible that KT may facilitate the activation of postural muscles and thus improve dynamic postural control in standing and walking in children with DCD. Therefore, the objectives of this thesis were: (1) to study the postural muscle activations during standing, walking and dynamic balance performance; and (2) to investigate the immediate effects of KT on postural muscle activations during standing, walking and dynamic balance performance in children with DCD. In the first two studies, muscle activation patterns during standing, walking and dynamic balance performance were compared between children with and without DCD using the cross-sectional study design. Lean mass was also investigated to provide an additional insight on the muscle deficits in children with DCD. Results revealed that children with DCD demonstrated a less competent dynamic balance performance in the lower quartile Y-balance test (YBT-LQ) (p<0.001). This was accompanied with a lower gastrocnemius medialis (GM) muscle peak activation during the posteromedial reach direction (p<0.05) and a shorter lower limb muscle time-to-peak duration for the anterior reach direction (p<0.05). As for walking, there was a lower GM peak activation during heel strike (p<0.05) and late swing (p<0.05) phases and a lower biceps femoris peak activation at the early swing phase (p<0.05). Moreover, the dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry unveiled that children with DCD had a lower leg lean mass (p<0.05) and appendicular lean mass index (p<0.01) compared to the controls. The third and fourth thesis studies involved randomized controlled trials investigating the immediate effects of KT (applied to the rectus femoris and gastrocnemius muscles) on the aforementioned outcomes while performing the YBT-LQ and walking on a motorized treadmill in children with DCD. YBT-LQ performance (composite scores) improved (p<0.05) with an increased rectus femoris peak activation for the anterior and posteromedial reach directions (p<0.05) post KT application. The application of KT also facilitated GM peak activation during the mid stance (p<0.001) and late stance (p<0.05) phases of the gait. In summary, these findings collectively suggested that leg muscle activations during standing and walking, leg lean mass, and dynamic balance performance are atypical in children with DCD. KT applied to the rectus femoris and gastrocnemius muscles displayed complimentary effects on muscle activations during standing and walking and improved dynamic balance performance of children with DCD. Therefore, KT could be included as an adjunct to the balance and gait rehabilitation programmes for children with DCD.