Introduction: Altered feed-forward neuromuscular control could be one of the main reasons causing functional ankle instability. Muscle pre-activation during landing from jump is an important measure of feed-forward neuromuscular control. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of six weeks neuromuscular training with wobble board and rocker board on the onset of pre-activation of selected calf muscles and self-reported function and perception of stability in male athletes with functional ankle instability through a randomized controlled trial.
Methodology: Twenty eight male athletes from physical education faculty of University of Tehran voluntary participated in this study and randomly assigned to a training group (n=14) and a control group (n=14). The training program consisted of six weeks progressive supervised neuromuscular training with wobble board and rocker board. Using surface electromyography the onset pre-activation of peroneus longus (PL), tibialis anterior (AT) and soleus (SOL) muscles were recorded during landing from jump. Self-reported function and perception of stability was measured using Ankle Joint Functional Assessment Tool before and after a 6 weeks training. Mixed model of repeated measures analysis of variance was used to compare the baseline results with the 6-week assessments for each of the outcome measures. Paired samples t-test and independent t-test were used to evaluate specific differences. All statistical tests were performed using SPSS Version 18.0 software with a significance level of .05.
Results: Results indicated a significant increase in onset pre-activation of PL, AT and SOL in the training group after 6 weeks neuromuscular training (p<0.01). Also after 6 weeks neuromuscular training, experimental groups showed a significant improvement in self-reported function and perception of stability (p < 0.01).
Discussions: Six weeks progressive supervised neuromuscular training with wobble board and rocker board significantly increased onset pre-activation of PL, AT and SOL and improved self-reported function and perception of stability in male athletes with functional ankle instability.