Identifying factors associated with proprioceptive impairment in individuals after lateral ankle sprain: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the validity of a stretch strain sensor-based circumduction reproduction test and identify factors associated with foot-ankle proprioceptive dysfunction in individuals with a history of lateral ankle sprain.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

SETTING

University laboratory.

PARTICIPANTS

Seven copers and 18 patients with chronic ankle instability (CAI).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The circumduction reproduction test measured absolute error between eyes-open and eyes-closed conditions as an indicator of proprioception during ankle circumduction. Absolute errors in the sensor, shank-rearfoot and rearfoot-midfoot relative angles were measured using a three-dimensional motion analysis system. An independent t-test was used to compare errors between groups. Pearson's correlations were calculated to identify factors contributing to absolute errors, including foot joint variables, anterior displacement, subtalar joint excursion, and weight-bearing lunge test.

RESULTS

The CAI group showed significantly greater sensor error (p = 0.025). The sensor errors significantly correlated with shank-rearfoot (r = 0.698) and rearfoot-midfoot (r = 0.760) errors. The sensor error was significantly associated with subtalar joint excursion (r = 0.667) and weight-bearing lunge test (r = -0.528).

CONCLUSIONS

The circumduction reproduction test using the stretch strain sensor enables accurate evaluation of proprioceptive impairments, with absolute errors associated with subtalar joint excursion and weight-bearing lunge test.