Postural control following inversion injuries of the ankle.
Postural control was investigated following unilateral inversion injury of the ankle in 24 trained and 24 untrained subjects at least 8 weeks following injury and following resumption of high-speed activities. The two groups differed in the practice of balance exercises in one-legged stance during rehabilitation. Using a force platform the variability of the mediolateral force signal was used to quantify steadiness as each subject stood in one-legged stance with the eyes open and closed on the injured and noninjured legs. A three way analysis of variance showed that for the untrained subjects postural steadiness was significantly worse on the injured leg than the noninjured leg both with eyes open (p < .05) and closed (p < .05). No postural deficit was found on the injured leg of the trained subjects with eyes open or closed (p > .05). It is strongly recommended that rehabilitation following inversion injury of the ankle include balance retraining to minimize the risk of further injury.
Goldie
P A
PA
School of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia.
Evans
O M
OM
Bach
T M
TM
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D005081:Exercise Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017844:Lateral Ligament, Ankle / Q000293:injuries*; D008297:Male; D004856:Postural Balance; D011187:Posture; D012678:Sensation Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D013180:Sprains and Strains / Q000150:complications* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D013997:Time Factors; D014785:Vision, Ocular