Four-Week Ankle-Rehabilitation Programs in Adolescent Athletes With Chronic Ankle Instability.

Context: Researchers have shown that rehabilitation programs incorporating resistance-band and balance-board exercises are effective for improving clinical measures of function and patient-reported outcomes in individuals with chronic ankle instability (CAI). However, whether combining the 2 exercises increases improvement is unknown.

Objective: To determine the effectiveness of 3 rehabilitation programs on clinical measures of balance and self-reported function in adolescent patients with CAI.

Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy Improves Perceived Disability Associated With Dizziness Postconcussion.

Clinical Scenario: Every year, millions of people suffer a concussion. A significant portion of these people experience symptoms lasting longer than 10 days and are diagnosed with postconcussion syndrome. Dizziness is the second most reported symptom associated with a concussion and may be a predictor of prolonged recovery.

Establishing the Minimal Clinical Important Difference and Minimal Detectable Change for the Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool.

Objective: To establish the minimal detectable change (MDC) and minimal clinically important difference (MCID) for the Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool (CAIT) in a population with chronic ankle instability (CAI).

Design: Experimental cohort.

Setting: Laboratory.

Patient-Reported Efficacy 6 Months After a 4-Week Rehabilitation Intervention in Individuals With Chronic Ankle Instability.

Objective: To track the patient-reported efficacy of a 4-wk intervention (wobble board [WB] or resistance tubing [RT]) in decreasing symptoms of chronic ankle instability (CAI) at 6 mo postintervention (6PI) as compared with immediately postintervention (IPI).

Design: Randomized controlled trial.

Participants: Fourteen of 21 participants (66.

A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Rehabilitation Efficacy in Chronic Ankle Instability.

Context: There is minimal patient-oriented evidence regarding the effectiveness of interventions targeted to reduce symptoms associated with chronic ankle instability (CAI). In addition, clinicians aiming to prioritize care by implementing only the most effective components of a rehabilitative program have very little evidence on comparative efficacy.

Objective: To assess the comparative efficacy of 2 common ankle rehabilitation techniques (wobble-board [WB] balance training and ankle strengthening using resistance tubing [RT]) using patient-oriented outcomes.

Effects of a 4-Week Biomechanical Ankle Platform System Protocol on Balance in High School Athletes With Chronic Ankle Instability.

Context: Chronic ankle instability (CAI) describes the residual symptoms present after repetitive ankle sprains. Current rehabilitation programs in the high school population focus on a multistation approach or general lower-extremity injury-prevention program. Specific rehabilitation techniques for CAI have not been established.

Noise-Enhanced Eversion Force Sense in Ankles With or Without Functional Instability.

Context: Force sense impairments are associated with functional ankle instability. Stochastic resonance stimulation (SRS) may have implications for correcting these force sense deficits.

Objective: To determine if SRS improved force sense.

Wobble Board Rehabilitation for Improving Balance in Ankles With Chronic Instability.

Objective: To quantify improvements in clinical impairments using a wobble board rehabilitation protocol for chronic ankle instability (CAI).

Design: Prospective randomized controlled trial.

Setting: Laboratory.

Recalibration and validation of the Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool cutoff score for individuals with chronic ankle instability.

Objective: To independently recalibrate and revalidate the Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool (CAIT) cutoff score for discriminating individuals with and without chronic ankle instability (CAI). There are concerns the original cutoff score (≤27) may be suboptimal for use in the CAI population.

Design: Case control.

Postural-stability tests that identify individuals with chronic ankle instability.

Context: Chronic ankle instability (CAI) is characterized by repeated ankle sprains, which have been linked to postural instability. Therefore, it is important for clinicians to identify individuals with CAI who can benefit from rehabilitation.

Objective: To assess the likelihood that CAI participants will exhibit impaired postural stability and that healthy control participants will exhibit better test performance values.

Customized noise-stimulation intensity for bipedal stability and unipedal balance deficits associated with functional ankle instability.

Context: Stochastic resonance stimulation (SRS) administered at an optimal intensity could maximize the effects of treatment on balance.

Objective: To determine if a customized optimal SRS intensity is better than a traditional SRS protocol (applying the same percentage sensory threshold intensity for all participants) for improving double- and single-legged balance in participants with or without functional ankle instability (FAI).

Design: Case-control study with an embedded crossover design.

Balance assessments for predicting functional ankle instability and stable ankles.

A number of instrumented and non-instrumented measures are used to detect balance deficits associated with functional ankle instability (FAI). Determining outcome measures that detect balance deficits associated with FAI might assist clinicians in identifying impairments that may otherwise go undetected with less responsive balance measures. Thus, our objective was to determine the balance measure that best predicted ankle group membership (FAI or stable ankle).

Concentric evertor strength differences and functional ankle instability: a meta-analysis.

Objective: To determine whether concentric evertor muscle weakness was associated with functional ankle instability (FAI).

Data Sources: We conducted an electronic search through November 2007, limited to English, and using PubMed, Pre-CINAHL, CINAHL, and SPORTDiscus. A forward search was conducted using the Science Citation Index on studies from the electronic search.

A systematic review of prophylactic braces in the prevention of knee ligament injuries in collegiate football players.

Objective: To determine the relative risk reduction associated with prophylactic knee braces in the prevention of knee injuries in collegiate football players.

Data Sources: An exhaustive search for original research was performed using the PubMed, SportDiscus, and CINAHL databases from 1970 through November 2006, with the search terms knee brace, knee braces, knee bracing and football, prophylactic brace, and prophylactic knee braces.

Study Selection: Seven studies comparing knee injuries among braced and non-braced collegiate football players were included.