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Long-term neuromuscular training and ankle joint position sense
A Kynsburg1, G Pánics, T Halasi
1Department of Sports Surgery, National Institute for Sports Medicine, Budapest, Hungary.
Acta Physiologica Hungarica
|June 1, 2010
Summary
Proprioceptive training significantly improves ankle joint position sense in elite handball players long-term. This enhanced proprioception may explain reduced injury rates in athletes.
Area of Science:
- Sports Medicine
- Neuromuscular Physiology
- Biomechanics
Background:
- Proprioceptive training is known to reduce injury incidence in athletes.
- The specific proprioceptive mechanisms underlying this injury prevention effect remain unclear.
- Ankle joint position sense is crucial for athletic performance and injury prevention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the long-term effect of proprioceptive training on ankle joint position sense in elite female handball players.
- To determine if improvements in joint position sense correlate with reduced injury rates.
- To explore the proprioceptive mechanism potentially explaining the injury reduction benefits of neuromuscular training.
Main Methods:
- A longitudinal study involving 10 elite female handball players (intervention group) and 10 healthy athletes from other sports (control group).
- Proprioceptive training was integrated into the regular training regimen of the intervention group over 20 months.
- Ankle joint position sense was assessed using the 'slope-box' test before and after the intervention period.
Main Results:
- Significant improvement (p<0.0001) in ankle joint position sense across all four directions after 20 months of proprioceptive training, with an average improvement of 1.77 degrees.
- Individual direction improvements ranged from 1.59 degrees (posterior) to 2.03 degrees (anterior), all highly significant (p<0.0002).
- Follow-up errors (2.24° ±0.88°) were significantly lower (p<0.0001) than in uninjured controls (3.29° ±1.15°).
Conclusions:
- Long-term proprioceptive training demonstrably enhances ankle joint position sense function in elite athletes.
- Improved joint position sense is a potential mechanism explaining the effectiveness of neuromuscular training in reducing athletic injuries.
- This study provides evidence for the efficacy of targeted proprioceptive interventions in improving sensorimotor control in high-risk sports.
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