Effect of proprioceptive training on postural balance in patients with chronic ankle instability

Abstract

The symptoms of acute lateral ankle sprain usually resolve quickly; approximately 40% of individuals with an initial ankle sprain will develop long-lasting symptoms (including pain, subjective instability, loss of function, and repetitive ankle injuries) that lead to constant ankle dysfunction. The threshold for sensing joint movement has been changed. As a consequence of this local proprioceptive deficit, owing to damaged peripheral proprioceptors, postural control changes occur. The purpose of this study is to follow the effect of proprioceptive training on postural balance and limb functioning in patients with chronic ankle instability. Methodology: A total of 15 young individuals diagnosed with chronic ankle instability for 6 months or more participated in the investigation. All subjects underwent 8 weeks of proprioceptive training and performed exercises for static joint position sense, movement sense, balance exercises, and plyometric-orientated skills. Before and after proprioceptive training, they were tested for static postural balance using the Stork test – eyes open and closed; to test dynamic postural balance, Star Excursion Balance Test and One Leg Hop for time were used. Results After 8 weeks of proprioceptive training, the Stork test with eyes open was performed to the norm using stable (30.00 s) and unstable (29.933 ± 0.258 s) legs. When vision was eliminated, the patients with chronic ankle instability showed poor balance using both stable (25.6 ± 4.032 s) and unstable (20.466 ± 5.37 s) legs The Star Excursion Balance Test showed the shortest tap distance for the unstable leg in Anterolateral (52.47 ± 4.95 cm) and Lateral (57.53 ± 2.696 cm) directions, while the highest mean increase was in the Anterior direction (d-10.867 cm, α ˂ 0.05). The highest difference between leg performances was in the Posterolateral (d- 11.13 cm, α ˂ 0.05) direction. One Leg Hop test showed improvement in the time of performance using the unstable leg (4.53 ± 0.79 s) but not enough to match the time of the stable leg (3.59 ± 0.48 s). Conclusion: The 8-week proprioceptive training improved both the static and dynamic unilateral balance of patients with unilateral chronic ankle instability. Still, some difficulties were observed when performing dynamic balance tasks.