Can ankle proprioception be improved by repeated exposure to an ankle movement discrimination task requiring step-landing in individuals with and without CAI?

Abstract

ObjectivesTo determine whether individuals with and without Chronic Ankle Instability (CAI) can improve their ankle movement discrimination sensitivity by repeated exposure to an ankle proprioceptive task requiring landing. DesignA repeated-measures study. SettingUniversity laboratory. Participants24 university students, 11 with CAI and 13 without CAI. Main outcome measuresAnkle proprioception was measured using the Ankle Inversion Discrimination Apparatus for Landing (AIDAL) over 3 occasions: AIDAL-1 and AIDAL-2 separated with a 10-min interval, and AIDAL-3 at 24 h post AIDAL-2. ResultsBetter Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool (CAIT) questionnaire scores were correlated with higher AIDAL scores (rho = 0.465, p = 0.022). Two-way ANOVA showed a significant CAI main effect for step landing ankle inversion proprioception, with CAI worse (F = 8.410, p = 0.008), but the Time main effect across the 3 AIDAL tests was not significant (F = 1.552, p = 0.223). ConclusionsThe AIDAL assessment was sensitive in terms of discriminating between individuals with or without CAI. However, the step-down component of the AIDAL proprioceptive task was possibly too challenging. For CAI, physical therapy exercises should take into account the difficulty of the training task, so that a demonstrable learning effect can be achieved.