Proprioceptive Impairment and Joint Position Exposure Time in Relation to Patient-Report Outcome With Chronic Ankle...

Area of Science:

• Biomechanics
• Neuromuscular Control
• Sports Medicine

Background:

• Chronic ankle instability (CAI) is prevalent, often linked to proprioceptive deficits.
• Proprioception, crucial for joint stability, may be affected by temporal factors.
• Understanding these factors is key for effective rehabilitation strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine ankle proprioceptive sensitivity across different position exposure times (PETs) in individuals with CAI.
• To correlate proprioceptive performance with the severity of perceived ankle instability.
• To assess the test-retest reliability of a novel smartphone-based proprioception tool.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional comparative study involving 48 participants (24 CAI, 24 non-CAI).
• Smartphone Proprioception for Ankle Navigation (SPAN) assessed active ankle movement proprioception at 0.25s and 1.0s PET.
• The Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool (CAIT) quantified perceived instability.

Main Results:

• Longer PET (1.0s) enhanced proprioception in healthy and asymptomatic CAI ankles, but not in symptomatic CAI ankles.
• Ankle proprioceptive performance at 1.0s PET significantly correlated with CAIT scores.
• SPAN test-retest reliability varied with PET, particularly for the asymptomatic CAI side.

Conclusions:

• Proprioceptive impairments in CAI are influenced by the temporal aspect of joint positioning.
• Individuals with CAI demonstrate a reduced ability to benefit from prolonged PET for proprioceptive enhancement.
• This temporal deficit is significantly associated with the subjective severity of ankle instability.