Effect of Star Excursion Balance Training on ankle sprain injury rehabilitation

An ankle sprain is the most common injuries which due to damage to the proprioceptive receptors and decrease stability, the risk of re- injury is high. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Star Excursion Balance training on ankle sprain rehabilitation. Sixteen non-professional athletes with history of unilateral ankle sprain which reported no history of neurological or vestibular impairments participated in this study (age: 24.2±2.7 years, weight: 71.6±3.1 kg, height: 177.2±3.4 cm; Means) and participated in 12 sessions physiotherapy. After ensuring walk without pain, Star Excursion Balance Training (SEBT) which reported as more effective program in improving functional stability of the sprained ankle was used for 4 weeks as rehabilitation program. The Single Leg Balance test was used to measure effect of rehabilitation program, and re-injury rate after one year were recorded. Paired sample t-test used for comparison of data mean. Results showed the positive effect of rehabilitation program, which balance ability in post-test was significantly higher than pre- test (t=8.67, P=0.000). After one year, 3 re-injuries were reported. Due to positive effect of SETB on static balance and hence ankle sprain rehabilitation, this study can be a basis to accelerate the rehabilitation and decrease the re injury rate.