EFFECTIVENESS OF EXTERNAL ORTHOTIC SUPPORT ON PASSIVE SOFT-TISSUE RESISTANCE OF THE CHRONICALLY UNSTABLE ANKLE

Functional ankle instability, orthoses, and passive resistive torque t olerated have not been researched. The purpose of the study was to eva luate the passive resistance torque exerted by a flexible and semirigi d orthosis for individuals with chronic instability, Twenty-two subjec ts were evaluated on the passive ankle resistance unit during unbraced , flexible, and semirigid brace conditions, Data from the final three trials for each condition were analyzed using a multiple analysis of v ariance with repeated measures for resistive torque and inversion rang e of motion. The semirigid and flexible braces tolerated significantly greater torque forces and less inversion range than the unbraced cond ition (P < 0.000), External orthotic support, in particular that of a semirigid orthosis, may be beneficial toward reducing injury or be an effective prophylactic for the healthy population.