Control of acceleration during sudden ankle supination in people with unstable ankles.

J Orthop Sports Phys Ther

Physical Therapy Department, Physical Education & Physical Therapy and Medicine Faculties, Brussels University, Belgium.

Published: December 2001

Study Design: Comparative study of differences in functional control during ankle supination in the standing position in matched stable and unstable ankles (ex post facto design).

Objectives: To document acceleration and deceleration during ankle supination in the standing position and to determine differences in control of supination perturbation between stable and unstable ankles.

Background: Repetitive ankle sprain can be explained by mechanical instability only in a minority of cases. Exercise therapy for ankle instability is based on clinical experience. Joint stability has not yet been measured in dynamic situations that are similar to the situations leading to a traumatic sprain. The process of motor control during accelerating ankle supination has not been adequately addressed in the literature.

Methods And Measures: Patients with complaints of ankle instability (16 unstable ankles) and nonimpaired controls (18 stable ankles) were examined (N = 17 subjects, 10 women and 7 men). The average age was 23.7 +/- 5.0 years (range, 20-41 y). Control of supination speed was studied during 50 degrees of ankle supination in the standing position using accelerometry (total supination time and deceleration times) and electromyography (latency time). Timing of motor response was estimated by measuring electromechanical delay.

Results: The presence of an early, sudden, and presumably passive slowdown of ankle supination in the standing position was observed. Peroneal muscle motor response was detected before the end of the supination. Unstable ankles showed significantly shorter total supination time (109.3 ms versus 124.1 ms) and significantly longer latency time (58.9 ms versus 47.7 ms).

Conclusions: Functional control in unstable ankles is less efficient in decelerating the ankle during the supination test procedures used in our study. Our conclusions are based on significantly faster total supination and significantly slower electromyogram response in unstable ankles. The results support the hypothesis that both decelerating the total supination movement during balance disturbance and enhancing the speed of evertor activation through exercise can be specific therapy goals.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.2519/jospt.2001.31.12.741DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

ankle supination
28
unstable ankles
24
supination standing
16
standing position
16
total supination
16
supination
14
ankle
10
functional control
8
stable unstable
8
control supination
8

Similar Publications

Background: Calcaneal fracture malunion (CFM) commonly occurs with multiple pathologic changes and progressive pain and difficulty walking. The purpose of this study was to propose a modified 3-plane joint-preserving osteotomy for the treatment of CFM with subtalar joint incongruence, and to compare its efficacy to subtalar arthrodesis.

Methods: A retrospective comparative analysis of the data of 56 patients with CFM admitted from January 2017 to December 2022 was performed.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Posterior tibialis tendon dysfunction (PTTD) is a debilitating condition that leads to biomechanical changes, for which foot orthoses are often prescribed to attenuate. There is a need to improve the ability to predict these biomechanical alterations, determine the biomechanical effectiveness of foot orthoses, and anticipate their effects on individuals with PTTD during gait.

Research Question: Is the supination resistance test (SRT) reliable, and capable of predicting foot and ankle biomechanics, as well as the biomechanical effects of foot orthoses in individuals with PTTD during gait?

Methods: Twenty-one individuals with PTTD participated with supination resistance measured over two sessions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: To provide improved treatment for hallux valgus (HV), we sought to understand more about the pathophysiologic connection between flatfoot deformity and HV by comparing coronal plane alignment of the medial column of the foot for patients with isolated HV, isolated flatfoot, and combined HV-flatfoot vs controls.

Methods: This study retrospectively assessed a consecutive series of 33 patients with combined symptomatic and radiographic HV and flatfoot, 33 isolated symptomatic HV, 33 isolated symptomatic flatfoot, and 33 controls. The medial column alignment was assessed in the coronal plane using 3-dimensional weightbearing computed tomography (WBCT); rotation was measured for the navicular, medial cuneiform, and first metatarsal (M1).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Ankle fractures are among the most common types of fractures in the orthopaedic field, and the Lauge-Hansen classification is commonly used to categorize rotational ankle fractures. This study evaluated and compared the clinical and radiological outcomes of surgically treated supination external rotation (SER) and pronation external rotation (PER) injuries of grades III or IV.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed and enrolled 104 patients who underwent open reduction and internal fixation for SER or PER injuries classified as Grades III or IV between January 2016 and December 2021, all performed at a single center.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Knee joint position influences ankle torque, but it is unclear whether the soleus compensates to counteract the reductions in gastrocnemius output during knee-flexed versus knee-extended plantarflexions. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the effects of knee joint position and plantarflexion contraction velocity on ankle plantarflexion torque and electromyography activity of the medial gastrocnemius and soleus in healthy young adults. Healthy male participants (n=30) performed concentric plantar flexions in a custom-built dynamometer from 15° dorsiflexion to 30° plantarflexion at gradually increasing velocities during each contraction at 30, 60, 120, 180, and 210° s-1 in a supine position with the knee fully extended and while kneeling with the knee fixed in 90° flexion.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!