Term of Award

Spring 2009

Degree Name

Master of Science in Kinesiology (M.S.)

Document Type and Release Option

Thesis (open access)

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Department

Department of Health and Kinesiology

Committee Chair

Thomas Buckley

Committee Member 1

Barry Munkasy

Committee Member 2

Barry Joyner

Abstract

Chronic ankle instability (CAI) is associated with deficits in strength, balance, and static postural stability, however dynamic postural stability during transitional movements have received limited investigations. The purpose of this study was to assess dynamic postural stability in individuals with CAI during varying speeds of gait initiation (GI). There were twenty eight voluntary subjects, 14 (M8:F6) subjects with CAI and 14 (M8:F6) control subjects (healthy young athletes, HYA). CAI was assessed using the Foot and Ankle Ability Measure (FAAM) tool. Control subjects had no history of any LAS. Data was collected using two non-conducting forceplates and an electromagnetic tracking system. Subjects performed five trials of each task, first normal speed GI and then fast speed GI. There were no significant differences noted for both A/P and M/L movement and velocity of COP during S1. There were also no significant differences between groups for initial step length or initial step velocity. Lastly, there were no significant differences found between groups for COP-COM at the end of single support phase of gait. The results of this study suggest that GI may not be a challenging enough task to evoke deficits in postural control in individuals with CAI. The GI motor program likely remains unaffected by the development of CAI and these individuals are likely able to compensate for any functional deficits they may experience. Future research should investigate these motor programs using EMG data and also possibly secondary tasks that may challenge these individuals more.

Research Data and Supplementary Material

No

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