The influence of ankle support on postural control.

Area of Science:

• Sports Medicine
• Biomechanics
• Neurology

Background:

• Pre-season screening commonly includes postural control assessments for athletes.
• Establishing baseline function aids in return-to-play decisions post-injury.
• Sideline balance tests are crucial for immediate post-injury evaluations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the influence of external ankle support on postural control.
• To compare the effects of ankle taping and bracing versus barefoot conditions.
• To evaluate impacts on the Balance Error Scoring System (BESS) and NeuroCom Sensory Organization Test (SOT).

Main Methods:

• Nineteen healthy volunteers participated in three sessions with varied ankle support: taping, bracing, or barefoot.
• Balance was assessed using BESS and SOT before and after a 20-minute treadmill walk.
• Postural control was evaluated under different ankle support conditions.

Main Results:

• Fewer BESS errors (improved balance) were observed barefoot compared to braced ankles pre-walk (p=0.044).
• Post-walk, barefoot conditions showed fewer BESS errors than braced (p=0.034) and taped (p=0.037) conditions.
• Both BESS and SOT demonstrated significant balance improvements from pre- to post-walk across all conditions (p<0.001, p=0.009).

Conclusions:

• Ankle support devices can affect postural control measurements on the BESS.
• No significant influence of ankle support was found on the NeuroCom SOT.
• Clinicians should maintain consistent ankle support application when using the BESS for serial balance assessments.