Neuromuscular control of the ankle during pre-landing in athletes with chronic ankle instability: Insights from statistical parametric mapping and muscle co-contraction analysis

• Published in: Physical therapy in sport 2021-01, Vol.47, p.46-52
• Main Authors: Tretriluxana, Jarugool, Nanbancha, Ampika, Sinsurin, Komsak, Limroongreungrat, Weerawat, Wang, Hsing-Kuo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Ankle; Ankle Injuries - physiopathology; Ankle Joint - physiopathology; Athletes; Basketball; Case-Control Studies; Chronic ankle instability; Cross-Sectional Studies; Electromyography; Electromyography - methods; Female; Foot - physiopathology; Humans; Joint Instability - diagnosis; Joint Instability - physiopathology; Leg - physiopathology; Male; Muscle co-contraction index; Muscle Contraction; Muscle, Skeletal - physiopathology; Neuromuscular control; Physical therapy; Questionnaires; Rehabilitation; Sports medicine; Statistical Parametric Mapping; Time series; Volleyball
• ISSN: 1466-853X; 1873-1600
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ptsp.2020.11.023

The present study aimed to compare the neuromuscular control of the muscles around the ankle between athletes with CAI and without history of any ankle sprain (Non-CAI) by using statistic parametric mapping (SPM) and co-contraction analyses. Cross-sectional study; Setting: Laboratory; Participants: 40 athletes (20 CAI, 20 Non-CAI) were pair-matched for age and gender. Neuromuscular control was examined using surface electromyography (EMG) amplitude and muscle co-contraction 200 ms before foot-contact with the ground during a jump-landing task. The EMG amplitude of tibialis anterior, peroneus longus, and gastrocnemius medialis were analyzed using statistic parametric mapping. The CAI group exhibited decreased EMG amplitude of peroneus longus during preparation for foot-contact. There were no significant co-contraction differences between groups. Our findings demonstrate that SPM combined with the co-contraction provides a comprehensive EMG analysis to detect the differences of neuromuscular control between athletes with and without chronic ankle instability. Additionally, this finding indicates that CAI contributed to altered neuromuscular control during the pre-landing phase, which may contribute to re-injury mechanisms. •Statistical parametric mapping can be used for the comprehensive analysis and to detect differences of neuromuscular control.•Athletes with chronic ankle instability were able to maintain ankle joint stability by preserving the muscle co-contraction.