Relationship Between Ankle Injury History and Ankle Dorsiflexion in Division I Athletes

Ankle sprains are the most common injury seen in athletes. Research has shown approximately 11.5 ankle sprains per 1000 athletes across all sports. The Functional Movement Screen (FMS) is a way for trainers and coaches to determine injury risk for athletes. The screening is also designed to identify major limitations and imbalances that occur in individuals during basic levels of movement. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between ankle injury history and ankle range of motion (ROM), specifically dorsiflexion, among collegiate athletes before and after a hurdle step test. The question to be answered was, “Is there a difference in ankle dorsiflexion before and after exercise between collegiate athletes with previous ankle injuries and those who have not had ankle injuries?” Thirteen male Division I athletes (I=7, NI=6, ages 18-22) from a Northwest Indiana university participated in this study. ROM was taken for each participant in both ankles before and after the FMS hurdle step intervention. A one-way repeated measures ANOVA was conducted to compare the impact of injury on ROM. There was not a significant effect of the independent variable, injury, (non-injured=Wilks’ Lambda=0.943, F (1, 11) =0.668, p=0.431; Injured, Wilks Lambda=0.995, F (1, 13) =.069, p=0.796). These results suggest that there was no impact on ROM after the intervention was conducted