Knee joint proprioception: a comparison between female intercollegiate gymnasts and controls

Effects of Extensive Training on Female Teenage Gymnasts’ Active and Passive Ankle-Joint Position Sense

Objective:

To compare the ankle-joint position-sense patterns of gymnasts and nongymnasts.

Design:

Proprioceptive ability was evaluated with active and passive angle-reproduction tests.

Participants:

40 subjects assigned to 2 groups: group 1 (n = 20), healthy subjects, and group 2 (n = 20), teenage female gymnasts.

Measurements:

Joint-position sense was actively measured with a Cybex NORM™ isokinetic dynamometer and passively with a proprioception-testing device.

Results:

A Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the mean values of the gymnasts’ and controls’ ankles. Results revealed statistically significant differences (P < .05) between the 2 groups. No statistically significant difference between the dominant and nondominant ankles in the 2 groups was observed.

Conclusions:

The results suggest that extensive training might affect ankle-joint position sense, but genetics and natural selection could be the reason. It is thought that athletes are able to develop enhanced neurosensory pathways as a result of long-term training.

Proprioception of the ankle: a comparison between female teenaged gymnasts and controls

Proprioceptive mechanisms appear to play a role in stabilizing the joints and may serve as a means for interplay between static stabilizers and dynamic muscular restraints. The purpose of our study was to investigate whether or not gymnastic training has any effect on the balance and on proprioception in an ankle, as seen in gymnasts and in nongymnasts. We evaluated the proprioceptive ability of the ankle using four different tests (a one-leg-standing test, a single-limb-hopping test, an active angle-reproduction test, and a passive angle-reproduction test). Proprioception of the ankle was measured in 40 subjects who were assigned to two experimental groups. Group 1 (n: 20) were healthy control subjects, and group 2 (n: 20) were teenaged female gymnasts. The sense of position of a joint was actively measured using a Cybex NORMTM isokinetic dynamometer and measured passively with a proprioception-testing device. A Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare mean values of the gymnasts to the controls. Results revealed statistically significant differences (p<0.05) between two groups. We found no statistically significant differences between the dominant and nondominant ankle in volunteers or in gymnasts, in all tests. The results of this study suggest that gymnastic training has a positive influence on sense of position of the ankle joint and on balance, in addition to increasing muscle tone.

The Effect of Scapular Taping on Shoulder Joint Repositioning

Context:

There is a lack of research on the effects of scapular tape on shoulder joint repositioning.

Objective:

To quantify the effects of scapular taping on shoulder joint repositioning during flexion and abduction.

Design:

Repeated measures before and after trial.

Setting:

Academic institution.

Participants:

36 subjects without shoulder pathology.

Intervention:

Scapular taping with flexion and abduction.

Main Outcome Measures:

Lateral scapular slide test, plumb-line assessment, and a depth measurement. Absolute error in joint repositioning in flexion and abduction at 3 angles with and without scapular taping was measured.

Results:

No differences were found for tape vs no tape in flexion (P= .92) or abduction (P= .40) or between winging and nonwinging subjects in flexion (P= .62) or abduction (P= .91).

Conclusions:

Scapular taping has no effect on joint repositioning during active shoulder flexion or abduction. Scapular winging does not affect active joint repositioning after scapular taping.

Functional Training for the Restoration of Dynamic Stability in the PCL-Injured Knee

Functional training for the purpose of restoring dynamic joint stability has received considerable interest in recent years. Contemporary functional training programs are being designed to complement, rather than replace, traditional rehabilitation protocols. The purpose of this clinical commentary is to present a management strategy for restoring dynamic stability in the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL)-injured knee. The strategy presented integrates five key concepts: (a) planned variation of exercise, (b) outcomes-based assessment, (c) kinetic chain exercise, (d) proprioception and neuromuscular control, and (e) specificity of activity. Pertinent research findings and a clinical rationale are provided for using functional training in the restoration of dynamic stability in the PCL-injured knee.

Proprioception and joint stability

In the present paper the current clinical knowledge about proprioception is given for the shoulder, knee, ankle, elbow and the radiocarpal joint. Proprioceptive capabilities are decreased after joint injuries such as ACL or meniscus tears, shoulder dislocation, ankle sprain and in joints with degenerative joint disease. Some surgical procedures seem to restore the proprioceptive abilities; others do not. Elastic knee bandages or ankle braces increase different proprioceptive factors like ankle reproduction capability or sports-specific abilities. The present information on proprioception will influence our clinical practice in the future. We should choose surgical procedures that not only reconstruct the anatomy, but also the neurophysiologic feed-back mechanism.