Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 19, 2026
Evaluating Postural Control and Lower-extremity Muscle Activation in Individuals with Chronic Ankle Instability
Published on: September 18, 2020
Dynamic postural stability in subjects with braced, functionally unstable ankles
Erik A Wikstrom1, Mark A Arrigenna, Mark D Tillman
1University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA. ewikstrom@hhp.ufl.edu.
Context:
Research concerning prophylactic ankle stabilizers (PASs) has focused on healthy subjects, and the results cannot be generalized to the functional ankle instability (FAI) population, a population that has an increased risk of reinjury and is likely to wear PASs.
Objective:
To determine whether PASs improve dynamic postural stability in FAI subjects as compared with a control (no-brace) condition.
Design:
A crossover design was used to determine the effects of PASs on dynamic postural stability and vertical ground reaction forces.
Setting:
Biomechanics laboratory.
Patients Or Other Participants:
Twenty-eight subjects with unilateral FAI, 13 men (age = 21.5 +/- 1.2 years, height = 181.5 +/- 10.5 cm, mass = 77.6 +/- 17.2 kg) and 15 women (age = 20.5 +/- 1.1 years, height = 169.4 +/- 8.2 cm, mass = 67.9 +/- 8.8 kg).
Intervention(S):
A jump protocol required subjects to perform a 2-legged jump to a height equivalent to 50% of their maximum vertical leap and land on a single leg.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
The dynamic postural stability index, the directional components (medial-lateral, anterior-posterior, and vertical), and vertical ground reaction force after a jump landing.
Results:
Compared with the control condition, only the vertical component score was reduced (improved) with the application of a soft or semirigid PAS (P < .01).
Conclusions:
Soft and semirigid PASs did not improve dynamic postural stability as measured by the Dynamic Postural Stability Index. However, PASs may help with the attenuation of vertical forces.
