External ankle supports alter running biomechanics

NewsBot · Apr 4, 2019

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External ankle supports alter running biomechanics: a field-based study using wearable sensors.
Gregory CJ et al
Physiol Meas. 2019 Apr 3

To evaluate the effects of ankle taping, bracing, and fibular reposition taping (FRT) on running biomechanics as measured with wearable sensors. Approach: A crossover study design was employed as 12 young adults (6 males, 6 females) with history of ankle sprain completed four 400m runs at self-selected pace on an outdoor track. One of four conditions (control, taped, braced, FRT) was applied prior to each run. RunScribeTM sensors were heel-mounted on each shoe and measured kinematic (maximum pronation velocity, pronation excursion), kinetic (braking and impact g's) and spatiotemporal (cycle time, contact time, stride length, stride pace) variables. Ankle range of motion (ROM) was also measured before and after each run.  Main Results: Significant differences were found across conditions for maximum pronation velocity (p<.001), pronation excursion (p<.001), braking g (p=.02) and cycle time (p=.05). Taping restricted maximum pronation velocity (528.8±193.6°/sec) and pronation excursion (11.9±4.7°) the most, followed by bracing (562.1±178.3°/sec; 12.9±5.1°). Braking g were significantly higher in the control condition (12.1±0.9 g) condition compared to braced (11.6±1.2 g) and taped (11.6±1.0 g). Cycle time was significantly greater in the braced condition (677.8±43.7 ms) compared to taped (669.3±44.6 ms) and FRT (672.1±44.2 ms). Ankle ROM increased post-run in all conditions.  Significance: Ankle taping and bracing were shown to be comparable in their abilities to decrease ankle kinematics and kinetics, while FRT caused minimal changes in running biomechanics. These results demonstrate the utility of wearable sensors to measure running biomechanics in a field-based study of a clinical sports medicine intervention
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NewsBot · May 25, 2021

Foot Posture and Plantar Loading With Ankle Bracing
Laura C Dickerson, Robin M Queen
J Athl Train. 2021 May 1;56(5):461-472

Context: Arch height is one important aspect of foot posture. An estimated 20% of the population has pes planus and 20% has pes cavus. These abnormal foot postures can alter lower extremity kinematics and plantar loading and contribute to injury risk. Ankle bracing is commonly used in sport to prevent these injuries, but no researchers have examined the effects of ankle bracing on plantar loading.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of ankle braces on plantar loading during athletic tasks.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Laboratory.

Patients or other participants: A total of 36 participants (11 men, 25 women; age = 23.1 ± 2.5 years, height = 1.72 ± 0.09 m, mass = 66.3 ± 14.7 kg) were recruited for this study.

Intervention(s): Participants completed walking, running, and cutting tasks in 3 bracing conditions: no brace, lace-up ankle-support brace, and semirigid brace.

Main outcome measure(s): We analyzed the plantar-loading variables of contact area, maximum force, and force-time integral for 2 midfoot and 3 forefoot regions and assessed the displacement of the center of pressure. A 3 × 3 mixed-model repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to determine the effects of brace and foot type (α = .05).

Results: Foot type affected force measures in the middle (P range = .003-.047) and the medial side of the foot (P range = .004-.04) in all tasks. Brace type affected contact area in the medial midfoot during walking (P = .005) and cutting (P = .01) tasks, maximum force in the medial and lateral midfoot during all tasks (P < .001), and force-time integral in the medial midfoot during all tasks (P < .001). Portions of the center-of-pressure displacement were affected by brace wear in both the medial-lateral and anterior-posterior directions (P range = .001-.049).

Conclusions: Ankle braces can be worn to redistribute plantar loading. Additional research should be done to evaluate their effectiveness in injury prevention.
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NewsBot · Mar 18, 2022

The effect of ankle supports on lower limb biomechanics during functional tasks: a systematic review with meta-analysis
Tomas Megala et al
March 01, 2022

Objectives
To systematically review the literature on the effects of ankle supports on lower extremity biomechanics during functional tasks.
Design
Systematic review with meta-analysis.
Methods
Eight electronic databases were searched from inception to July 2019. Studies of biomechanical outcomes during functional tasks that used a within-participant (repeated measures) design were included. Two independent reviewers screened studies, extracted data, assessed the methodological quality of the included studies and rated the quality of evidence. Meta-analysis was performed and reported as standardised mean differences (SMD) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI).
Results
A total of 8350 studies were identified in the electronic search and 42 studies involving a total of 761 participants were included in the review (21 studies included for qualitative reporting and 21 studies in the meta-analysis). For most biomechanical variables there was no effect of external supports on lower extremity biomechanics. Most individual studies and the meta-analyses demonstrated no effect of ankle supports on ground reaction force or ankle inversion angle. However, there was high quality evidence that ankle taping decreased plantarflexion angle at initial contact during landing from a height (P = 0.0009, SMD = 0.72, 95% CI = 1.15, 0.03, I (Klem et al., 2017 2. ) = 3%). The effect of ankle supports on transverse plane ankle biomechanics has not been adequately investigated.
Conclusion
Ankle taping only decreased plantarflexion angle at initial contact during landing from a jump. Ankle supports did not affect inversion angle or forces in linear and multiplanar tasks. There was insufficient evidence on the effect of ankle supports on ankle transverse plane biomechanics.
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