A follow-up Study on the Effect of Neuromuscular Training on Asymmetry of Balance in Athletes with Chronic Ankle Instability

The ankle sprain is one of the most common sports injuries that cause chronic instabilities in the joint as well as many disorders in the individual's motor pattern and asymmetry in lower extremity function. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of neuromuscular training on balance symmetry in patients with chronic ankle sprain.
In this semi-experimental study, the population consisted of female young athlete selected from various athletic disciplines, age in the range of 19-26 years. Twenty subjects with chronic ankle instability were selected as a sample by using purposefully available sampling method. Neuromuscular exercises were performed for 6 weeks and 3 sessions per week. The subject's balance was measured on both injured and non-injured foot before and after the training and after one month of detraining by the Biodex balance system. Data analysis was done by means of ANOVA with repeated measures and dependent t-test at a significant level of (p The results indicated that there was a significant difference between the balance in the non-injured and injured foot in the pretest (p=0.05). Furthermore, no significant difference was observed in the post-test 1 and 2 (p The ankle sprain causes balance asymmetry in two limbs, and neuromuscular training improved the balance on both legs and compensated balance asymmetry. After one month of detraining, the symmetry of balance in both legs was sustained.