Does chronic ankle instability affect side-cutting in female soccer players?

Area of Science:

• Biomechanics
• Sports Medicine
• Orthopedics

Background:

• Lateral ankle sprains frequently recur, leading to chronic ankle instability (CAI).
• CAI impacts movement strategies during dynamic tasks like side-cutting, but findings are inconsistent.
• Understanding these altered strategies is crucial for rehabilitation and injury prevention in athletes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate and clarify movement strategies during side-cutting maneuvers in female soccer players with and without CAI.
• To compare biomechanical parameters between CAI and healthy control groups during unanticipated side-cutting tasks.
• To identify potential compensatory mechanisms employed by athletes with CAI.

Main Methods:

• A case-control study involving 13 female soccer players with CAI and 12 healthy controls.
• Participants performed 10 successful trials of side-cutting maneuvers in anterolateral, lateral, and posterolateral directions under unanticipated conditions.
• Kinematic and kinetic data, including stance time and ground reaction forces, were analyzed.

Main Results:

• The CAI group demonstrated significantly increased stance time during lateral and posterolateral side-cutting maneuvers compared to controls.
• In posterolateral cuts, the CAI group exhibited decreased posterior ground reaction forces during specific stance phases.
• These findings suggest altered force application and prolonged ground contact time in athletes with CAI.

Conclusions:

• Female soccer players with CAI adopt modified movement strategies during side-cutting, potentially to compensate for ankle instability.
• Increased stance time and reduced propulsive/braking forces may characterize CAI during sharp cutting maneuvers.
• These biomechanical alterations offer insights for developing targeted assessments and interventions for athletes post-ankle sprain.