Effects of Prefabricated Ankle Orthoses on Postural Stability in Basketball Players with Chronic Ankle Instability

PURPOSE: Ankle sprain is one of the most common injuries among athletes and instability and injury to this joint is responsible for long time loss of physical and recreational activity. Also, it can impose high costs to sport teams. Prevention of this injury is an important concern of practice and rehabilitation. One way of reducing the possibility of ankle joint injury is using an ankle orthosis. The present study aimed at inspecting the effects of two ankle orthoses on dynamic and semi-dynamic postural stability in athletes with chronic ankle instability (CAI). METHODS: Twenty basketball players with CAI and fifteen non-injured athletes volunteered to participate in this study. Biodex Balance System was used to assess the participants’ postural stability in bilateral position at level 8 and level 2. Repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed in order to examine the effects of ankle orthoses. Statistical significance level was determined at P< 0.05. RESULTS: Statistical analyses revealed the significant effect of ankle supports on dynamic and semi-dynamic postural stability in the two groups and results indicated there wasn't significant difference between groups. CONCLUSIONS: According to our results the orthoses improved both dynamic and semi-dynamic postural stability. Therefore, orthoses can prevent injury and its reoccurrence.