An investigation of neurological and/or biomechanical factors underpinning the effect of a thrust manipulation on chronic ankle symptoms: an observational study.

Background: Ankle sprains are a commonly occurring musculoskeletal injury potentially resulting in persistent pain and/or altered motion. Thrust manipulation may serve as an interventional strategy but limited evidence exists on the mechanism(s) by which a change to symptoms might occur.

Objective: The study sought to quantify the immediate effect of a thrust manipulation to the ankle to determine a mechanism by which change to symptoms occurred.

Methods: Eleven participants (6 m/5f, 26.09 ± 4.25 yrs) with a history of ankle sprain that occurred greater than three months ago with recurring pain and/or altered motion were recruited. Participants underwent neurophysiological testing to assess any pain alterations and instrumented gait analysis (IGA) for biomechanical assessment pre-post thrust manipulation to the ankle.

Results: There were no significant differences in ankle dorsiflexion (DF) ( = 0.62), plantarflexion (PF) ( = 0.23), ground reaction force (GRF), or velocity ( = 0.63) following thrust manipulation compared to baseline; however, pre- and post-data did show differences in pain pressure threshold ( = 0.046). There were no significant differences in dynamic pain measurements.

Conclusions: Ankle sprains that result in persistent pain and/or altered motion can be impacted by a thrust manipulation which appears to act through neurophysiological mechanisms.