Postural control and ankle joint functions: an investigation on collegiate female volleyball players

Purpose. Ankle injuries are common in volleyball players and are linked to the athlete's postural control. The aim of the report is to investigate the differences between ankle functions and postural control ability of volleyball players and controls, and also the relationship between the variables in order to understand the factors affecting postural control. Methods. 40 female participants (age: 21.18 +/- 0.27, volleyball players/controls: 20/20) were included in the study. Ankle functions (joint range of motion (ROM), joint position sense (JPS), vibration and isometric muscle strength) and postural control variables (anterior-posterior and medial-lateral sway velocity, ellipse area and perimeter) were evaluated by static stability test. The differences between the groups and the correlation between variables were analysed. Results. Significant differences favoured the volleyball group in ankle dorsiflexion, inversion, and eversion ROM, JPS, dorsiflexor and plantar flexor isometric muscle strength, and postural control variables (p < 0.05). However, the control group demonstrated superior vibration sensitivity on the 1(st) and 5(th) metatarsal heads (p < 0.05). A significant correlation was observed between the anterior-posterior sway velocity and dorsiflexion ROM, medial-lateral sway velocity and sway area with inversion ROM, sway area and vibration threshold in the 1(st) and 5th metatarsal heads (p < 0.05). Conclusions. Volleyball players showed better results in ankle ROM, JPS, muscle strength and postural control. In addition to the similarities in ankle plantar flexion ROM, invertor and evertor isometric muscle strength between the groups, the controls showed better vibration sensitivity; which reveals potential causes of ankle injuries in volleyball players. Ankle function variables are found to be linked to postural control, highlighting the need to evaluate these functions for injury prevention.