Impacts of Rehabilitation Gait Training on Functional Outcomes after Tibial Nerve Transfer for Patients with Peroneal Nerve Injury: A Nonrandomized Controlled Trial

Background: Although there was initial success using tibial nerve transfer to restore ankle dorsiflexion following peroneal nerve injury, results from later series were less promising. A potential reason is coactivation of the much stronger antagonistic muscles during gait. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that gait training would improve functional performance following tibial nerve transfer. Methods: Using a prospective, nonrandomized, controlled study design, patients were divided into two groups: surgery only or surgery plus gait training. Of the 20 patients who showed reinnervation in the tibialis anterior muscle, 10 were assigned to the gait training group, and an equal number were in the control group. Those in the treatment group began training once reinnervation in the tibialis anterior muscle was detected, whereas those in the control group continued to use their ankle-foot orthosis full time. Differences in ankle dorsiflexion were measured using the Medical Research Council scale, and quantitative force measurement and functional disability was measured using the Stanmore Scale. Results: Patients in the gait training group attained significantly better functional recovery as measured by the Stanmore Scale (79.5 +/- 14.3) (mean +/- SD) versus (37.2 +/- 3.5) in the control group (p = 0.02). Medical Research Council grades were 3.8 +/- 0.6 in the training group versus 2.5 +/- 1.2 in the surgery only group (p < 0.05). Average dorsiflexion force from patients with above antigravity strength (all from the training group) was 31 percent of the contralateral side. Conclusion: In patients with successful reinnervation following tibial nerve transfers, rehabilitation training significantly improved dorsiflexion strength and function.

Automated summary

The study showed that rehabilitation training significantly improved dorsiflexion strength and function in patients who successfully reinnervated following tibial nerve transfers.