The Immediate Effect of Trigger Point Dry Needling on Postural Stability and Functional Performance in Athletes with Chronic Ankle Instability

Ankle sprains lead to chronic ankle instability (CAI) in about 70% of cases. Patients with CAI commonly exhibit a number of sensorimotor deficits like disturbed postural control and diminished performance. It was hypothesized that targeting the fibularis muscles may have a therapeutic effect on sensorimotor function and decreasing the risk of future ankle sprains in CAI patients. This study was aimed to evaluate the effect of trigger point dry needling (DN) of fibularis longus and brevis on postural stability and functional performance in athletes with CAI  

Thirty participants with CAI were randomly allocated into two experimental groups of DN and sham-DN. The participants were tested for static and dynamic postural stability using Biodex Balance System (BBS) and Y-Balance Test (YBT) respectively. Functional performance assessments were conducted using triple hop and figure of 8 hop tests. All of the participants underwent these tests before and immediately after a single session of intervention. Statistical analysis was performed using independent and paired t-tests.  

Static and dynamic postural stability were improved significantly after a single session of DN (P < 0.05), while the improvement in sham-DN group was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Functional performance remained unchanged in both groups (P > 0.05).  

A single session of trigger point DN of fibularis longus and brevis is an effective way to immediately improve static and dynamic postural stability in athletes with CAI. Therefore, it may be considered as a potential preventive and rehabilitative intervention in clinical practice for the patients with CAI.