Development and application evaluation of static progressive ankle stretcher
10.19745/j.1003-8868.2025182
- VernacularTitle:静态渐进性足踝牵伸器研制及应用效果评价
- Author:
Hai-yang ZHAO
1
;
Qin ZHOU
1
;
Hao GUAN
1
;
Chan ZHU
1
;
Ting SHEN
1
;
Jing XU
1
Author Information
1. 空军军医大学第一附属医院烧伤与皮肤外科,全军烧伤中心,西安 710032
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
burn injury;
rehabilitation;
foot drop;
ankle stretcher;
static progressive stretching technique
- From:
Chinese Medical Equipment Journal
2025;46(10):54-59
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective To develop a static progressive ankle stretcher for the treatment of functional disorders caused by scar contracture of the Achilles tendon after burn,and to evaluate its application effect.Methods The static progressive ankle stretcher was composed of a plantar support section and a calf support section,which was mainly made of a 3.2 mm-thick medical low-temperature thermoplastic plate,a commercially available 1 mm-diameter steel wire rope,grooved wheels,ice fishing reels with a diameter of about 50 mm,curved folding hinges and a locking threader with a hole diameter of about 1.5 mm.Totally 49 patients with scar contracture after deep Ⅱ to Ⅲ-degree burns of the Achilles tendon admitted to some hospital from March 2021 to January 2023 were prospectively selected and divided into a conventional rehabilitation group(25 cases)and a combined rehabilitation group(24 cases)using a randomized numerical table method.The patients in the conventional rehabilitation group underwent routine scar care such as anti-scarring medication application at home,scar massage,resistance training,joint loosening training in the hospital and compression therapy with the customized compression stockings/pants at the rest of the time,the patients in the combined rehabilitation group were treated with the static progressive ankle stretcher besides the measures taken for the conventional group.The two groups were compared in terms of scarring,ankle function and active dorsiflexion mobility of the ankle joint before and 12 weeks after the treatment,balance and walking ability 4 weeks and 12 weeks after the treatment,adverse events during the treatment and patient satisfaction 12 weeks after the treatment.SPSS 23.0 statistical software was used for data analysis.Results In terms of scarring condition,ankle function and active dorsiflexion mobility of the ankle joint all the patients were improved 12 weeks after the treatment,and the ones in the combined rehabilitation group behaved better than the ones in the conventional group,with the differences being statistically significant(P<0.05).The balance and walking ability 12 weeks after the treatment was better than that 4 weeks after the treatment in the two groups,and the combined rehabilitation group gained advantages over the conventional group in balance and walking ability,with the difference being statistically significant(P<0.05).During the treatment no adverse events due to the static progressive ankle stretcher were found,such as muscle tissue strain,scarred skin rupture,instrument friction and pressure injury.The combined rehabilitation group had higher patient satisfaction than the conventional group 12 weeks after the treatment,with the differences being statistically significant(P<0.05).Conclusion The static progressive ankle stretcher combined with the conventional rehabilitation treatment contributes to improving contracture scar conditions and joint mobility at the Achilles tendon area of the post-burn patients,which helps accelerate the recovery of ankle function after burns and enhance the balance and walking ability of the patients.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2025,46(10):54-59]
