The effect of external ankle support on knee and ankle joint movement and loading in netball players.
OBJECTIVE
External ankle support has been successfully used to prevent ankle sprains. However, some recent studies have indicated that reducing ankle range of motion can place larger loads on the knee. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of external ankle support (braces and high-top shoes) on the ankle and knee joint loading during a netball specific landing task.


METHODS
A repeated measure design.


METHODS
High performance netball players with no previously diagnosed severe ankle or knee injury (n=11) were recruited from NSW Institute of Sport netball programme. The kinematic and kinetic data were collected simultaneously using a 3-D Motion Analysis System and one Kistler force plate to measure ground reaction forces. Players performed a single leg landing whilst receiving a pass while wearing a standard netball shoe, the same shoe with a lace-up brace and a high-top shoe.


RESULTS
Only the brace condition significantly reduced the ankle range of motion in the frontal plane (in/eversion) by 3.95 ± 3.74 degrees compared to the standard condition. No changes were found for the knee joint loading in the brace condition. The high-top shoes acted to increase the peak knee internal rotation moment by 15%. Both the brace and high-top conditions brought about increases in the peak ankle plantar flexion moment during the landing phase.


CONCLUSIONS
Lace-up braces can be used by netball players to restrict ankle range of motion during a single leg landing while receiving a pass without increasing the load on the knee joint.
Department of Kinesiology, KU Leuven, Belgium; Exercise, Health and Performance, Faculty of Health Science, University of Sydney, Australia; Health Innovation and Technology, Fontys University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands. Electronic address: benedicte.vanwanseele@faber.kuleuven.be.
Benedicte
B
Vanwanseele
Exercise, Health and Performance, Faculty of Health Science, University of Sydney, Australia; Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia.
Max
M
Stuelcken
Exercise, Health and Performance, Faculty of Health Science, University of Sydney, Australia; Faculty of Health, Social Care & Education, Anglia Ruskin University, United Kingdom.
Andrew
A
Greene
Exercise, Health and Performance, Faculty of Health Science, University of Sydney, Australia.
Richard
R
Smith
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000843:Ankle Joint / Q000502:physiology*; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D012399:Rotation; D012775:Shoes; D013177:Sports / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
Biomechanics; Braces; Knee; Loading; Shoes