Abstract des Autors

Clinicians are often faced with the task of selecting ankle orthoses for patients who have incurred an ankle sprain injury. The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of the DonJoy Ankle Ligament Protector and the Aircast Sport-Stirrup in limiting foot and ankle motion before and after exercise. Subjects were eight males and eight females with no history of ankle injury during the 6 months prior to testing, neurological condition, lower extremity arthritis, lower extremity fracture, or cardiac or balance problems. A Biodex dynamometer and computer were used to impose passive moments and to measure eversion and inversion prior to application of the ankle orthoses, following application, and following 10 minutes of figure-of-eight running and 20 unilateral toe raises. Both ankles of each subject were assessed for each ankle orthosis. Subjects also rated the orthose for comfort, stability, and cosmetic acceptability. Both ankle orthoses significantly reduced eversion and inversion following application and following exercise compared to preapplication measurements. Eversion measurements increased significantly following exercise for both ankle orthoses. Eversion measurements for the two orthoses did not differ following exercise. Inversion measurements following application and following exercise were less for the DonJoy Ankle Ligament Protector orthosis than for the Aircast-Sport-Stirrup orthosis. Verf.-Referat