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

ObjectiveTo investigate ankle proprioceptive sensitivity under different position exposure times (PETs) and performance score relationship with the severity of perceived ankle instability in individuals with CAI.DesignTest-retest reliability, cross-sectional comparative study.SettingsUniversity laboratory.ParticipantsForty-eight individuals (24 CAI, 24 non-CAI).Outcome measureSmartphone Proprioception for Ankle Navigation (SPAN) was used to assess active ankle movement proprioceptive performance under two PET conditions (0.25 s and 1 s). The symptomatic (CAI-SS) and asymptomatic side (CAS-AS) were tested and retested for reliability for CAI group, whilst randomly selected side of non-CAI group was tested once for between-group comparisons. Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool (CAIT) was self-administered to quantify perceived severity of ankle instability.ResultsLonger PET (1.0 s) improved proprioceptive sensitivity in non-CAI and CAI-AS groups but not in CAI-SS. Ankle proprioceptive performance at 1.0 s PET was significantly correlated with CAIT scores. SPAN test-retest reliability was influenced by PET, with similar ICCs for CAI-SS at both PETs but notable differences for CAI-AS.ConclusionThis study highlights the temporal aspect of proprioceptive impairments associated with CAI as measured with SPAN. Individuals with CAI struggled to utilize prolonged exposure time to enhance proprioceptive sensitivity, and this limitation was significantly associated with the severity of perceived ankle instability.