Effects of neuromuscular training on dynamic postural balance and proprioception in youth basketball players with functional ankle instability

Abstract

Introduction: Injury prevention depends on several factors in the athlete, where an optimal postural balance and proprioception are key to achieving it. It is suggested that neuromuscular training could improve dynamic postural balance and proprioception in basketball players with functional ankle instability (FAI). Method: Randomized controlled clinical trial. The sample consisted of 27 female basketball players between the ages of 15 and 17, belonging to a Sports Club in the Maipú city (Santiago, Chile). 13 of them assigned to the control group and 14 to an experimental group. This last group received a neuromuscular intervention of 6 weeks, of 2 non-consecutive days. Both extremities were worked on stable, unstable surfaces, with and without visual inhibition. Postural balance was measured with the SEBTm test and proprioception through an active joint repositioning test. Results: both the control and experimental groups significantly improved postural balance, however, the experimental group showed greater percentage changes and larger effect sizes (ES). The greatest change in the control group was 7.8% in the posterolateral direction of the SEBTm (p=0.046; ES=0.74). In the experimental group, the greatest change was 21% in the anterior direction of the SEBTm (p=0.001; ES=2.2). In the active repositioning test, no significant changes were observed in the control group, while the experimental group improved up to 82.8% in the hip joint (p=0.001; ES=2.72). Conclusion: A six-week neuromuscular training improved dynamic postural balance and proprioception in female basketball players with IFT.