title: The effect of textured ballet shoe insoles on ankle proprioception in dancers.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Impaired ankle inversion movement discrimination (AIMD) can lead to ankle sprain injuries. The aim of this study was to explore whether wearing textured insoles improved AIMD compared with barefoot, ballet shoes and smooth insoles, among dancers.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-four adolescent male and female dancers, aged 13-19, from The Australian Ballet School were tested for AIMD while barefoot, wearing ballet shoes, smooth insoles, and textured insoles.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No interaction was found between the four different footwear conditions, the two genders, or the two levels of dancers in AIMD (p > .05). An interaction was found between the four different footwear conditions and the three tertiles when tested in ballet shoes (p = .006). Although significant differences were found between the upper tertiles and the lower tertiles when tested with ballet shoes, barefoot and with smooth insoles (p < .001; p < .001; p = .047, respectively), when testing with textured insoles dancers in the lower tertile obtained similar scores to those obtained by dancers in the upper tertile (p = .911).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Textured insoles improved the discrimination scores of dancers with low AIMD, suggesting that textured insoles may trigger the cutaneous receptors in the plantar surface, increasing the awareness of ankle positioning, which in turn might decrease the chance of ankle injury.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Sport Exercise and Active Living (ISEAL), Victoria University, Victoria, Australia; Wingate College of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Wingate Institute, Netanya, Israel. Electronic address: knopp@wincol.ac.il.
authors.forename: Nili
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Steinberg
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health, University of Canberra, Australia.
authors.forename: Gordon
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Waddington
authors.affiliation: School of Physiotherapy, University of Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.affiliation: The Australian Ballet School, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Karin
authors.affiliation: Institute of Sport Exercise and Active Living (ISEAL), Victoria University, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Oren
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Tirosh
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D016512:Ankle Injuries / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000843:Ankle Joint / Q000502:physiology*; D003615:Dancing / Q000293:injuries*; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D011434:Proprioception / Q000502:physiology*; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular / Q000502:physiology*; D012775:Shoes; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Ankle discrimination; Dancers; Injuries; Proprioception