Effect of short-foot exercise on dynamic balance of subject with acquired flat foot: Telerehabilitation single case study

Abstract

Introduction and objectives. A flat foot may significantly cause impairment of an individual's ability, ligamentous laxity, pronated foot, equines foot deformity, tibial torsional deformity, and the presence of the accessory navicular bone. This study aims to evaluate the effect of the short foot exercise (SFE) on foot posture (pronated foot), foot biomechanics, and dynamic balance in a patient with symptomatic flexible flat foot. Telerehabilitation has developed to refer to the provision of rehabilitation services at a distance through the use of electronic information and communication technologies. It is part of both the broader range of telemedicine activities. Material and methods. A 44-year-old male was diagnosed with right flat foot five years ago, after fracturing the lower end of his fibula which was treated with a plaster cast for 6 weeks, have trained with short foot exercise (SFE) for 4 weeks and have been assessed by navicular bone test (NBT), foot posture index (FPI), and Y-balance test (YBT) to assess foot posture and dynamic balance pre- and post-training. Results. There is an increase in dynamic balance, a decrease in measurement differences in the navicular bone test, and a change in foot position from a highly pronated foot to a normal. Conclusions. Short-foot exercises improve foot position, foot biomechanics, and dynamic balance for patients with excessively pronated feet.