Investigate the effect of different types of ankle braces on postural control indexes: A Study on athletes with unstable ankle degree I and II

AbstractIntroduction: The purpose of this study was investigate the effect of  Neoprene ،lace-up and air cast ankle on postural control indexes of volleyball players with unstable ankle degree I and II.Materials and Methods: Subjects of this study were 15 volleyball players in the age range of 18-23 years who had at least 3 years’ experience of playing in different volleyball leagues and had unstable ankle degree I and II. During the study, for quantity of  postural control indexes , four times (no brace, Neoprene ankle brace, lace-up ankle brace and air cast ankle brace) postural control test (single leg stability testing in difficult level of 12) was performed by Biodex Balance System. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and one-way repeated measures at the significance level of %95 or α ≤0/05.Results: Data analyzing showed that overall index of postural control has significant decrease when applied either types of ankle braces. According to the obtained results, all three types of ankle braces could improve postural control. Neoprene ankle brace was more efficient than lace-up and Air cast ankle brace. Although lace-up brace was more efficient than air cast ankle brace, the difference was not significant.Conclusion: In athletes with unstable ankle, all three types of ankle brace can prevent ankle sprain via improving postural control index. And in volleyball players with unstable ankle degree I and II, Neoprene ankle brace was more efficient than other types of ankle braces.Keywords: Unstable ankle, Ankle brace، postural control index