Does Acute Exercise Stress Affect Postural Stability and Cognitive Function in Subjects with Chronic Ankle Instability?

Deficits in neurocognitive performance in patients with chronic ankle instability during a neurocognitive balance task - A retrospective case-control study

OBJECTIVES

To assess the neurocognitive performance while maintaining balance of patients experiencing CAI compared to healthy controls. In patients with CAI, the affected limb was also compared to the contralateral limb.

DESIGN

A retrospective case-control study.

SETTING

Laboratory study.

PARTICIPANTS

We included 27 patients with CAI and 21 healthy controls.

METHODS

The study consisted of two sessions, namely familiarisation and experimentation, which were scheduled with a gap of at least one week between them. During the experimental trial, both groups performed the Y-Balance Test and Reactive Balance Test once on each limb.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

The main outcome measures are accuracy and visuomotor response time (VMRT) calculated via video-analysis and with the Fitlight™-hardware and software respectively during the Reactive Balance Test (RBT).

RESULTS

No data was excluded from the final analysis. Patients with CAI exhibited significantly lower accuracy than healthy controls, with a mean difference of 8.7% (±3.0)%. There were no differences for VMRT between groups. Additionally, no significant differences were observed between the affected and contralateral limb of the patient group for both accuracy and VMRT.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with CAI showed lower accuracy, but similar VMRT compared to healthy controls during a neurocognitive balance task, indicating impaired neurocognitive function. Patients exhibit comparable speed to healthy individuals when completing neurocognitive balance tasks, yet they display a higher frequency of accuracy errors in accurately perceiving their environment and making decisions under time constraints. Future research should gain more insights in which other cognitive domains are affected in patients with CAI for a better grasp of this condition's underlying mechanism.

Another Look at Fatigued Individuals with and without Chronic Ankle Instability: Posturography and Proprioception

Fatigue can impair function of the three sensory systems (vestibular, visual, and somatosensory) that control postural balance. Yet impairment may be greater among individuals with than those without chronic ankle instability (CAI). The present study used posturography assessment to extend previous findings demonstrating reduced function of the three systems in CAI participants following fatigue. Our aim in this study was to examine the influence of anaerobic and aerobic protocols on the function of these three sensory systems in individuals with and without CAI. We assessed 60 healthy physical education students (Mage = 24.3, SD = 3.4) by a Tetrax® Posturography device for Stability-Index and Fourier-frequencies [low sway (F1) visual input, medium-low sway (F2-F4) vestibular input, medium-high sway (F5-F6) somatosensory input] and by the Active Movement Extent Discrimination Assessment (AMEDA) for active ankle somatosensory ability, before and after performing anaerobic or aerobic protocols. Among participants, 45% were identified with CAI. We found significant Time effect (pre-post), CAI effect, and CAI X Time interactions for Fourier frequencies, Stability-Index, and AMEDA scores, indicating greater pre-post deterioration for those with CAI compared to those without CAI (p < .05). CI (95%) showed that, although there was a Time effect for F1, F2-F4, and F5-F6, only F5-F6 frequencies (i.e., somatosensory input) showed the CAI effect and the Time X CAI interaction. Thus, participants with and without CAI showed reduced visual, vestibular, and somatosensory ability following fatigue. While we found greater deterioration in both passive and active somatosensory ability (F5-6 and AMEDA) among individuals with CAI compared with those with no-CAI, we recommend intervention programs for improving vestibular abilities following fatigue in both those with and without CAI.