Subjective and objective evaluation of proprioceptive loss following severe lateral ankle sprains

The purpose of this study was to examine the after effects of severe lateral ankle sprains on the ability to stand in unilateral stance as evaluated subjectively by a researcher and objectively by a forceplate. The subjects consisted of two groups of volunteers, 18-32 years old (M = 22.4 years). The first group consisted of 21 injured subjects (14 males, 7 females) and 14 noninjured subjects (10 females, 4 males) acted as the control group. All injured ankle data was pooled and compared to all noninjured data for total sway area in unilateral stance with eyes open and closed and total sway area from a cone of stability test. Descriptive statistics were obtained to determine the accuracy of the researcher in evaluating a subjects sway subjectively when compared with the objective measure of the computer. The results demonstrated that injured subjects had significantly more sway in unilateral stance with eyes open and eyes closed (p \u3c .05) and that an independent researcher could predict the most unstable side 78.6% of the time. The results of the bilateral stance cone of stability test demonstrated that no difference existed between injured and noninjured subjects