Comparison Of Gender Differences In Ankle And Knee Proprioception

Abstract

It was reported that in same sports program and training intensity, knee and ankle injury in female is 2-8 times higher than males. The decline of posture control is an important cause for sports injuries. Postural control is accomplished by the combination of proprioception, central and neuromuscular control. Proprioception is a crucial component in maintaining the body stability. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there exist gender differences in knee and ankle proprioception between male and female in follicular cycle. METHODS: Twenty-four healthy college student (male: n=12, age: 23.08±1.8 years; height : 1.73±0.07m; weight :59.83±12.69kg; female: n=12, age: 21.75±1.77 years; height : 1.64±0.64m weight : 56.25±6.77kg) were included in the study. Knee and ankle proprioception were measured by an electric-driven movable frame which was moved by an electric motor rotated the foot on an axis at a rate of 0.4°/s. The test results were averaged from five times movement in each direction such as knee flexion and extension; plantarflexion, and dorsiflexion in ankle joint. The independent t test was used to compare differences between proprioception of ankle and knee joint in males and follicular females. The significance level was p<0.05. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between proprioception of plantarflexion (male:0.78±0.26 °; female: 0.65±0.27 °, p=0.215) and dorsiflexion (male: 0.64±0.18 °; female: 0.62±0.33 °, p=0.872) between males and follicular females. No significant differences were found on knee flexion (male:0.54±0.21°; female:0.54±0.32 °, p=1.000) and extension (male:0.55±0.23 °; female: 0.43±0.17 °, p=0.132) in male and follicular female. CONCLUSIONS: There were no significant gender differences on ankle and knee proprioception. Therefore, proprioception may not be the cause of the decline in posture control of female.