EFFECT OF COORDINATION TRAINING ON PROPRIOCEPTION OF THE FUNCTIONALLYUNSTABLE ANKLE

Exercises to improve joint proprioception and coordination of the func tionally unstable ankle are advocated throughout the literature, yet t here is little evidence that these exercises have any effect on propri oception and balance. The purpose of this study was to determine the e ffects of a 6-week coordination and balance training program on propri oception of subjects with functional ankle instability. Forty-five sub jects (age = 22.53 +/- 3.95 years, height = 712.04 +/- 10.0 cm, weight = 71.12 +/- 15.7 kg) were randomly placed into a control (Group 1), s ham (Group 2), or experimental (Group 3) group. The experimental group trained 3 days per week, 10 minutes each day, performing various bala nce and proprioception exercises. Postural sway and active and passive joint position sense were assessed. Analysis of variance for postural sway modified equilibrium score for anterior and posterior sway, as w ell as medial and lateral sway revealed significant four-way interacti ons. Tukey post hoc analyses revealed that Group 3 performed significa ntly better (p < .51 than Group 1 and Group 2 on the posttests. There were no significant differences for joint position sense or postural s way index. Results suggest that balance and coordination training can improve some measures of postural sway. It is still unclear if joint p osition sense can be improved in the functionally unstable ankle.