Effects of Ankle Swelling on Static Postural Control and Patient-Reported Outcomes in Individuals with Chronic Ankle Instability

Authors

Ashton Earl, Brigham Young UniversityFollow
Hyunwook Lee, University of North Carolina at Chapel HillFollow
Seunguk Han, Pusan National UniversityFollow
Minsub Oh, Brigham Young UniversityFollow
Jon Tyson Hopkins, Brigham Young UniversityFollow

Abstract

Chronic ankle instability (CAI) individuals have ankle swelling as a residual symptom. Joint swelling frequently occurs and inhibits full neural activation of muscles, known as arthrogenic muscle inhibition. However, little is known about the effects of ankle swelling on static postural control and patient-reported outcomes about ankle function and instability in CAI individuals. PURPOSE: To investigate the effects of ankle swelling on static postural control in individuals with CAI. METHODS: A total of 45 participants were recruited from a university population: 15 CAI individuals with swelling (swelling), 15 CAI individuals without swelling (non-swelling), and 15 healthy controls (control). Ankle swelling was measured using a figure 8 ankle girth measurement by one investigator. CAI participants were classified into swelling and non-swelling groups if there was a swelling difference of at least 0.5 cm between injured and uninjured ankles. All participants completed three patient-reported outcomes, including foot and ankle measure activities of daily living and sports, and ankle instability instrument prior to data collection. They performed 3 successful trials of a 10-second single-leg stance on a force plate (1000Hz, AMTI, Watertown, MA), standing as still as possible with hands crossed on the chest, the opposite leg at approximately 45° of knee flexion and 20° of hip flexion. One-way ANOVA was used to analyze the differences between groups for static postural control and patient-reported outcomes. RESULTS: The swelling (p=0.03 and pand non-swelling (p=0.002) groups showed worse static postural control in center of pressure (COP) mediolateral velocity and/or anteroposterior velocity compared to the control group. The swelling and non-swelling groups showed differences in patient-reported outcomes concerning ankle function and instability compared to the control group. However, there were no differences in static postural control and patient-reported outcomes between the swelling and non-swelling groups. CONCLUSION: Both swelling and non-swelling CAI individuals showed worse static postural control compared to healthy controls. However, ankle swelling does not affect static postural control and patient-reported outcomes in CAI individuals.

Recommended Citation

Earl, Ashton; Lee, Hyunwook; Han, Seunguk; Oh, Minsub; and Hopkins, Jon Tyson (2024) "Effects of Ankle Swelling on Static Postural Control and Patient-Reported Outcomes in Individuals with Chronic Ankle Instability," International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings: Vol. 14: Iss. 4, Article 27.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijesab/vol14/iss4/27