COMPARISON OF DONJOY ANKLE LIGAMENT PROTECTOR AND SUBTALAR SLING ANKLE TAPING IN RESTRICTING FOOT AND ANKLE MOTION BEFORE AND AFTER EXERCISE

Clinicians often must select an appropriate prophylactic ankle support system for their patients from a variety of ankle orthoses and ankle taping configurations. The purpose of this study was to compare the ef fectiveness of the DonJoy(R) Ankle Ligament Protector and a newly deve loped ankle taping procedure in restricting foot and ankle motion befo re and after exercise. Subjects were eight males and eight females who reported no history of ankle injury during the 6 months prior to test ing, neurological condition, lower extremity arthritis, lower extremit y fracture, or cardiac or balance problems. A Biodex dynamometer and c omputer were used to impose passive moments and to measure eversion an d inversion prior to application of the ankle support systems, followi ng application, and following 10 minutes of figure-of-eight running an d 20 unilateral toe raises. Both ankles of each subject were assessed for each ankle support system. Subjects also compared the support syst ems for comfort, stability, and cosmetic acceptability. Both ankle sup port systems significantly reduced eversion and inversion following ap plication and following exercise compared with preapplication measurem ents. Eversion measurements increased significantly following exercise for both ankle support systems compared with postapplication measurem ents. Inversion displacement following application was greater for the Ankle Ligament Protector than the ankle taping system. The two ankle support systems did not differ significantly following exercise for ev ersion or inversion measurements. The results may assist clinicians in selecting either of these ankle support systems for use in protection against ankle sprain injury.