Restoring stability and proprioception: the use of postural re-education and proprioceptive exercises for chronic ankle instability in athletes

Posture re-education is a common method to improve the posture of athletes. This study aims to compare two methods of proprioceptive exercise, one with visual biofeedback and one without traditional method, in athletes with chronic ankle instability.

This research was quasi-experimental where 30 male athletes with CAI from sports Futsal, volleyball, and handball were selected. Subjects were randomly divided into 2 groups with 15 athletes placed in each group: proprioceptive exercise with visual biofeedback and proprioceptive exercise without visual biofeedback. They following parameters were evaluated using the respective tests: joint angle reconstruction error using tests to ankle Joint Position Sense (JPS), number of errors in maintaining balance using Balance Error Scoring System (BESS), and rate of reaching the maximum distance using Y balance test.

Comparison of the two groups in terms of variable dorsiflexion (P = 0.028, η² = 0/166) and plantarflexion (P = 0.013, η² = 0/209) proprioception of athletes’ ankles indicated that reconstruction angle difference by degree, static postural control by number of errors (P = 0.012, η² = 0/213), and dynamic postural control in anterior (P = 0.001, η² = 0.570), posterior–medial (P = 0.001, η² = 0.759), and posterior–lateral (P = 0.030, η² = 0.163) by centimeter were significant.

In most of the results, the effect size is small for this reason when proprioceptive exercise is combined with visual biofeedback. Athletes may utilize feedback to make slight improvements in their performance and adjust their movements.