Impact of Combined Muscle Strength and Proprioceptive Exercises on Functional Ankle Instability

Abstract

Ankle sprain accounts for 7–10% of cases admittedto the emergency room in hospitals(1). According tostudies, ankle sprain accounts for 15–20% of allsports-related injuries(2, 3). The ratio of reoccur-rence of ankle sprain is reported to be as high as30–40%(4).Functional ankle instability(FAI) refers to the sub -jective feeling of an ankle giving way that remainsafter recurrent ankle sprains(5). The Cumberlandankle instability tool(CAIT) can be used to evaluateFAI. This evaluation tool has high reliability andvalidity(6). Isokinetic equipment evaluates muscle functionalitythrough peak torque, peak torque % bodyweight(PT%BW), average power, and total work.Isokinetic equipment has been used as a standardevaluation instrument(7, 8, 9). It is also utilized in avariety of areas due to its high reliability(10, 11). Causes of FAI include muscle weakening and lackof proprioceptive senses. Proprioception plays animportant role in neuromuscular interactions(12).These deliver various kinds of signals to the centralnervous system through the muscle spindle andGolgi tendon organ located in ligaments, skin, mus -cles, tendons, and joint capsules to control themovement of the body(12). Previous studies have examined the use of muscle-strengthening exercises, as well as exercises thatimprove proprioceptive sense and FAI(13, 14). Ankleinstability is caused not only by deficiency of musclestrength but also by a lack of proprioception at thesame time(15, 16, 17). Thus, execution of muscle-strengthening exercise and proprioceptive senseexercise separately may be ineffective interventionsfor FAI. Therefore, the current study implemented a combi-nation of muscle-strengthening and proprioceptivesense exercises and examined the impacts of thesecombined exercises on FAI.