Patient Story – Application of PNF/Kinesio Taping/ICB Insole/EMS
This is Y, a 4-year-old girl whom I first treated in April 2018. At that time, her parents brought her to my clinic every week. After two years, her visits became less frequent, reduced to once every fortnight. At 7 and a half years old, Y continues treatment and attends sessions every three weeks with her parents.
Y was born with congenital heart disease and underwent a percutaneous coronary intervention in 2017. Several months later, her pediatric doctor discovered a mass over her thoracic spine. An open surgery was performed, which unfortunately resulted in a surgical misadventure. Y developed incomplete paraplegia following the procedure. She presented with poor active control of her core and bilateral lower limb muscles. Consequently, she struggled to achieve a stable, unaided gait.
On examination, Y was found to have a leg length discrepancy of 1.3 cm, with the right leg longer than the left. To address this, I fabricated an insole based on ICB orthotics to bridge the gap and correct her supinated ankle.
In addition, her hip flexors were notably weak, impairing initiation of the swing phase of gait. To compensate, she relied on her trunk muscles to lift the lower limb. Kinesio Taping was therefore applied to the corresponding muscles to facilitate activation and correct the underactivity.
Moreover, her hamstrings were markedly underactive in stabilizing the right knee during mid-stance, forcing her to compensate with knee valgus. This valgus alignment was also an accommodation to the leg length discrepancy, with the right leg being longer. Consequently, Kinesio Taping was applied to facilitate hamstring activation and restore knee stability.