Introduction: Functional movement assessments predict injury risk successfully. However, the impact of Functional Ankle Instability (FAI) on functional movement assessment scores and also the influence of fatigue on functional movement assessment scores in FAI patients remains unknown. So the purpose of this study was to characterize functional movement scores before and after fatigue in FAI patients.
Methodology: A total of 40 male collegiate athletes with FAI participated. Following baseline assessments of the main outcome measures, fatigue was induced with a progressive treadmill protocol. We assessed three lower extremity movement patterns according to the Fusionetics Scoring System including static and dynamic postural stability, ankle dorsiflexion ROM, proprioception and ankle muscle strength. Dependent sample t-tests compared pre to post fatigue outcomes while Pearson Product Moment Correlations were used to assess the relationships among Fusionetics scores and traditional sensorimotor assessments both before and after fatigue was induced.
Results: Overall Fusionetics scores for each movement pattern was significantly impaired after fatigue (p<0.05). The fatigue protocol significantly impaired all sensorimotor outcomes (p<0.01). Only a limited number of significant correlations among Fusionetics scores and sensorimotor outcomes were identified (P<0.05).
Discussion: We identified movement compensations at multiple anatomical regions in participants with FAI. Fatigue adversely effects functional movement patterns and sensorimotor outcomes in FAI patients. Only a limited number of correlations among Fusionetics scores and sensorimotor outcomes were identified.