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Single-leg drop landing movement strategies in participants with chronic ankle instability compared with lateral ankle sprain ‘copers’

  • Ankle
  • Published:
Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy Aims and scope

Abstract

Purpose

To compare the movement patterns and underlying energetics of individuals with chronic ankle instability (CAI) to ankle sprain ‘copers’ during a landing task.

Methods

Twenty-eight (age 23.2 ± 4.9 years; body mass 75.5 ± 13.9 kg; height 1.7 ± 0.1 m) participants with CAI and 42 (age 22.7 ± 1.7 years; body mass 73.4 ± 11.3 kg; height 1.7 ± 0.1 m) ankle sprain ‘copers’ were evaluated 1 year after incurring a first-time lateral ankle sprain injury. Kinematics and kinetics of the hip, knee and ankle joints from 200 ms pre-initial contact (IC) to 200 ms post-IC, in addition to the vertical component of the landing ground reaction force, were acquired during performance of a drop land task.

Results

The CAI group adopted a position of increased hip flexion during the landing descent on their involved limb. This coincided with a reduced post-IC flexor pattern at the hip and increased overall hip joint stiffness compared to copers (−0.01 ± 0.05 vs 0.02 ± 0.05°/Nm kg−1, p = 0.03).

Conclusions

Individuals with CAI display alterations in hip joint kinematics and energetics during a unipodal landing task compared to LAS ‘copers’. These alterations may be responsible for the increased risk of injury experienced by individuals with CAI during landing manoeuvres. Thus, clinicians must recognise the potential for joints proximal to the affected ankle to contribute to impaired function following an acute lateral ankle sprain injury and to develop rehabilitation protocols accordingly.

Level of evidence

Level III.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Health Research Board (HRA_POR/2011/46). There were no conflicts of interest to report.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. A101, School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sport Science, Health Sciences Centre, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland

    Cailbhe Doherty, Brian Caulfield & Eamonn Delahunt

  2. Institute for Sport and Health, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland

    Eamonn Delahunt

  3. Sport and Exercise Sciences Research Institute, Ulster Sports Academy, University of Ulster, Newtownabbey, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland, UK

    Chris Bleakley

  4. Department of Kinesiology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA

    Jay Hertel

  5. St. Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin 4, Ireland

    John Ryan

Authors
  1. Cailbhe Doherty
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  2. Chris Bleakley
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  3. Jay Hertel
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  4. Brian Caulfield
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  5. John Ryan
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  6. Eamonn Delahunt
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Correspondence to Cailbhe Doherty.

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Doherty, C., Bleakley, C., Hertel, J. et al. Single-leg drop landing movement strategies in participants with chronic ankle instability compared with lateral ankle sprain ‘copers’. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 24, 1049–1059 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-015-3852-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-015-3852-9

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