Can Proprioception Help Athletes Avoid Recurrent Ankle Sprains?
By Brian McCurdy, Senior Editor After athletes suffer ankle sprains, it can be a challenge to avoid recurrent injuries. A new study in the British Medical Journal says proprioceptive training may help in that regard. The study evaluated the efficacy of unsupervised proprioception training in preventing recurring ankle sprains in athletes. Researchers focused on 522 athletes who had sustained lateral ankle sprains within two months before the study. There were 256 patients in the intervention group and 266 patients in the control group. All patients received standard care but those in the intervention group also did an eight-week proprioception program at home. In one year of follow-up, researchers noted that 22 percent of athletes in the intervention group self-reported a recurrent ankle sprain in comparison to 33 percent of those in the control group. The study says the proprioception program resulted in a 35 percent reduction in the risk of a recurrent ankle sprain. Researchers added
