Prophylactic ankle braces and star excursion balance measures in healthy volunteers.

CONTEXT: The effects of prophylactic ankle braces on lower extremity functional performance in healthy participants have not been studied extensively.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if prophylactic ankle braces affected multidirectional reach distances during a test of dynamic balance.

DESIGN: Crossover.

SETTING: Laboratory.

PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-six healthy, physically active volunteers (18 men, 18 women; age = 23.6 +/- 2.7 years, height = 173.8 +/- 9.3 cm, mass = 74.4 +/- 12.7 kg, reach-leg length = 91.9 +/- 5.1 cm).

INTERVENTION(S): Volunteers performed balance testing in 3 conditions: unbraced, while wearing a semirigid ankle brace, and while wearing a lace-up ankle brace.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): We used the Star Excursion Balance Test, calculating the mean of 3 attempts in 8 directions (anterior, anterior-medial, medial, posterior-medial, posterior, posterior-lateral, lateral, and anterior-lateral), normalized by the participant's reach-leg length. Data were collected after 6 practice attempts for each of the conditions according to a balanced Latin square.

RESULTS: Bracing condition had no effect (P > .05) on any of the Star Excursion Balance Test directional measures. The largest mean difference due to bracing was 2.5% between the lace-up brace condition and the control in the posterior reach direction. This indicates that the actual reach differences due to bracing were less than 5.08 cm (2 inches) in length.

CONCLUSIONS: Clinicians can be confident that the prophylactic use of ankle braces does not disrupt lower extremity dynamic balance during a reaching task in healthy participants.