Six-week combined vibration and wobble board training on balance and stability in footballers with functional ankle instability.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness of a combination of vibration and wobble board training against wobble board training alone in footballers suffering from functional ankle instability (FAI).

DESIGN: A 2 × 3 prefactorial-postfactorial design.

SETTING: University research laboratory.

PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-three male semiprofessional footballers with self-reported unilateral FAI were randomly assigned in 3 groups: vibration and wobble board (mean age 22.2 years), wobble board (mean age 22.7 years), and control (mean age 23.1 years).

INTERVENTIONS: Participants in each intervention group performed a 6-week progressive rehabilitation program using a wobble board, either with or without the addition of vibration stimulus.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Absolute center of mass (COM) distribution during single-leg stance, modified star excursion balance test (SEBT) reach distances, and single-leg triple hop for distance (SLTHD) were measured before and after 6-week intervention.

RESULTS: Combined vibration and wobble board training resulted in reduced COM distribution [P ≤ 0.001, effect size (ES) = 0.66], increased SEBT reach distances (P ≤ 0.01 and P ≤ 0.002, ES = 0.19 and 0.29, respectively), and increased SLTHD (P ≤ 0.001, ES = 0.33) compared with wobble board training alone during the course of the 6-week training intervention.

CONCLUSIONS: Combined vibration and wobble board training improves COM distribution, modified SEBT scores, and SLTHD among footballers suffering FAI compared with wobble board training alone.