Research and News
Posts tagged ankle sprain
Balance exercises for chronic ankle sprains effective
Aug 31st
Chronic ankle sprains have been attributed to poor sensorimotor control, resulting in “functional ankle instability.” First described in the 1960’s by Freeman and Wyke, functional ankle instability has been postulated to result from a lack of proprioceptive information from the ankle due to “deafferentation.” Functional ankle instability is associated with chronic ankle sprains; patients with functional ankle instability may have normal strength and ligament structure, yet continue to suffer ankles sprains. Progressive balance exercise programs have been shown effective at reducing functional instability and recurring ankle sprains. Sensorimotor training programs for ankle instability often include balance exercises that use foam pads such as Thera-Band® Stability Trainers.
Researchers at the University of Kentucky developed a progressive balance training program for patients with chronic ankle instability. The program lasted 4 weeks and focused on dynamic balance stabilization in single-leg stance. Exercises included progressions in hops and single-leg balance using foam pads and 6-pound medicine balls. The results of their first study, published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise in 2008, found that their program significantly improved function and postural control in chronic ankle sprain patients. In their more recent study, 29 subjects with chronic ankle instability were randomly assigned to either an exercise group or More >
Another review supports proprioceptive training to prevent sports injuries
Jul 27th
It’s been documented in several studies that neuromuscular and proprioceptive exercises using unstable surfaces such as Thera-Band® Stability Trainers can reduce sports injuries. For example, Blue Thera-Band Stability Trainers were shown to reduce ankle injuries by 77% in football players at risk for ankle sprains (McHugh et al. 2007). More recently, a systematic review published in Medicine and Science and Sports and Exercise examined 7 high-quality studies on preventing sports injuries with neuromuscular/ proprioceptive training. Through a meta-analysis, the reviewers determined that neuromuscular training can effectively reduce sports injury risk, particularly those with a history of sprains.
The 7 studies they reviewed included both wobble board training (3 studies) and multi-intervention including strength training, stretching, balance training, and specific exercises (4 studies). Both balance exercise or multi-intervention exercise programs can reduce specific injuries in young athletes participating in basketball, volleyball, soccer, team handball, hockey and floorball. Specifically, balance training reduced the risk of ankle sprains by 36%, and multi-intervention training programs reduced ankle sprain risk by 50% and reduced acute knee injuries by 54%.
Thera-Band stability products can easily be incorporated in pre-season and in-season balance training programs for teams of young athletes to potentially prevent ankle and knee injuries; however, the best dosage (sets, More >
Functional rehabilitation of chronic ankle instability effective
Jul 12th
It’s been reported that athletes suffering an ankle sprains re-injure their ankle 70% to 80% of the time. This leads to chronic ankle instability or ‘functional ankle instability’. Rehabilitation for chronic ankle sprains often includes functional exercises including dynamic closed-chain activities. Thera-Band® products such as elastic resistance bands, stability trainers and balance boards are used for functional rehabilitation.
Researchers at the University of Toledo performed a systematic review of functional exercise interventions for their effectiveness. They identified 6 studies that met their criteria for the review, including 4 that used balance boards and elastic resistance strengthening. The researchers concluded that functional rehabilitation improves dynamic balance and self-reported function in patients with chronic ankle sprains. The exercise programs from the reviewed studies generally lasted 4 to 6 weeks and were performed 3 to 5 times a week. Finally, they pointed out that wobble board training in rehabilitation programs is “supported by the literature”; therefore, Thera-Band balance boards should be a standard component of chronic ankle instability rehabilitation program.
REFERENCE Webster KA, Gribble PA. Functional rehabilitation interventions for chronic ankle instability: a systematic review. J Sport Rehabil. 2010 Feb;19(1):98-114.
Visit the Thera-Band Academy Ankle Sprain resource center here
Thera-Band exercises effective for acute ankle sprains
Apr 20th
Ankle sprains are the most common injury in sports. Rehabilitation exercise after ankle sprains include active and resisted exercises, often performed with a Thera-Band® elastic band. Reduced ankle dorsiflexion range of motion (ROM) is considered to be a sign of significant injury and can affect gait and function.
Researchers at the Mayo clinic in Rochester, Minnesota recruited patients with acute (within 4 days) Grade I or II ankle sprains. They were prescribed a 4 to 6 week home exercise program that included cold and compression, along with progressive resisted exercises using an elastic band. Patients performed resisted dorsiflexion, plantarflexion, inversion, and eversion with a yellow Thera-Band resistance band, completing 3 sets of 10-20 repetitions, one to two times per day. The patients progressed through the remainder of the Thera-Band color-coded progression (red, green, blue, black, and silver) as they improved in strength. Once the patients could perform 3 sets of 10-20 repetitions of resisted plantar flexion, they began calf raises. They also performed single-leg balance exercises including standing on foam pads. In addition to the Thera-Band and balance programs that the patients received, participants were randomly assigned to one of 3 groups of stretching the Achilles tendon on increase dorsiflexion. Each group performed 3 More >
Balance Training Reduces Ankle Re-Injury
Dec 3rd
Approximately 23,000 ankle sprains occur daily in the United States, and about one half require some form of medical treatment. Research has shown that athletes are twice as likely to re-injure their ankle within one year. According to a study in the British Medical Journal, athletes with ankle sprains who receive additional proprioceptive training after ‘usual care’ are 35% less likely to suffer a recurrence over the next year. Over 500 athletes in the Netherlands were randomly assigned to usual care (the control group) or usual care plus 8 weeks of balance board exercises. The ankle exercises were performed 3 times per week, 30 minutes per session as part of normal warm-up before sports. The program gradually increased in difficulty.
Download the balance board ankle exercise program here.
The authors concluded that the 8 week balance training program would benefit both athletes and the general population after suffering an ankle sprain. The results of this study were similar to findings in a 2004 study where volleyball players in the Netherlands significantly reduced their risk of re-injury after a balance board training program. Another study on American high school football players with a history of ankle sprains reduced their risk of reinjury by 77% by training with the More >
