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Relationship between anterior ankle laxity and anterior talar translation during landing using dual fluoroscopic
Ye Luo1, Feng Li1, Xinwei Huang2
1School of Exercise and Health, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China.
Objective:
Ankle sprains are among the most common lower extremity injuries, and anterior ankle laxity may influence dynamic stability during high-impact tasks. Although instrumented measurements under standardized loads provide objective assessment of static anterior ankle laxity, the relationship between passive laxity and in vivo dynamic talar motion remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the association between static anterior ankle laxity and anterior talar translation during a single-leg landing task using dual fluoroscopic imaging.
Methods:
Fourteen healthy male participants (age 21.6 ± 1.3 years) performed single-leg landing tasks from a 40 cm platform. Static anterior ankle laxity was measured using a standardized anterior drawer loading protocol with displacement quantified at the 90 N load point. Participant-specific 3D tibia and talus models were reconstructed from MRI scans and registered to dual fluoroscopic images to calculate six-degree-of-freedom talar kinematics. Peak anterior talar translation within the first 100 ms after initial contact was extracted. Pearson correlation analysis assessed the relationship between static anterior ankle laxity and peak anterior talar translation.
Results:
Static anterior ankle laxity averaged 7.79 ± 1.32 mm, and peak anterior talar translation during landing was 8.93 ± 1.88 mm, showing notable inter-individual variability. A significant positive correlation was observed between static anterior ankle laxity and peak anterior talar translation (r = 0.818, 95% CI 0.51-0.94, p < 0.001). Ground reaction force data confirmed typical double-peak patterns during landing, and anterior-posterior translation was the primary degree of freedom.
Conclusion:
Static anterior ankle laxity is strongly associated with anterior talar translation during high-impact landing, suggesting that passive mechanical properties of the ankle are related to dynamic bone motion. Quantified anterior drawer measurements provide an objective assessment of ankle laxity and may provide biomechanical information relevant to dynamic ankle stability.
