Source of improvement in balance control after a training program for ankle proprioception

Previous research on healthy individuals reported improvements in balance c ontrol following a purported ankle proprioception-training program. The tra ining may have resulted in a general rather than a specific enhancement uf ankle proprioception. To test this hypothesis, subjects were constrained at the hips and trunk with a custom-made thoracolumbosacral orthosis and perf ormed a one-leg standing test with eyes closed and head tilted back, so tha t they had to rely primarily on their ankle musculature to keep their balan ce. Subjects were retested after training on the BAPS (R) three times a wee k for 4 weeks, following the training recommendations of the manual. Subjec ts' bodies were not constrained Juring the training. Analysis showed that s ubjects made improvements during training in performing more difficult task s on the board. On the one-leg test, however, there were no improvements in sway velocity, number of touchdowns, or falls relative to pretest scores, improvements observed during training likely resulted from diffuse enhancem ent of proprioception in other body segments such as the knees, hips, spine , and upper extremities. A training program in control of general balance d oes not specifically target ankle proprioception.