Abstract
Introduction:
An ankle sprain is a traumatic injury to the ankle. Repeated ankle injuries are a potential mechanism for the activation of trigger points. New theories in dry needling trigger points suggest improving ankle proprioception pain and function. Therefore, this study was designed to investigate the effect of dry needling of peroneal muscle trigger points on proprioception, movement perception, and functional disability in patients with chronic ankle instability.
Method:
In this clinical trial study, 36 patients with chronic ankle sprain and instability were identified and divided into two groups. The intervention group received dry needling in the trigger points of the involved leg muscle twice a week for 3 weeks and the control group received a sham-dry needle. Ankle proprioception (joint repositioning error angle) and movement perception threshold were assessed using the Isokinetic Biodex 4 pro system, and functional disability was evaluated using the ankle joint functional assessment tool (AJFAT), Foot and Ankle Disability Index (FADI) and Latin-8 and side to side hop tests. The variables were compared between the two groups after 3 weeks of treatment and one month after the end of the treatment period.
Results:
In the present study, there were significant improvements in active and passive ankle joint repositioning error of 15° inversion, maximal inversion minus 5°, FADI scores, Latin-8 and side-to-side hop tests' scores, and movement perception threshold at a speed of less than 0.5° per second, after the intervention. Foot and ankle assessment questionnaire, ankle joint repositioning error of 15° inversion, and maximal inversion minus 5° showed significant differences between the two groups in the follow-up (P < 0.05). The functional tests did not show the persistency of the treatment effect (P > 0.05).
Conclusion:
Regarding the improvement of disability and ankle joint repositioning error, dry needling of foot muscles can be an effective treatment for patients with chronic ankle instability and in the case of heavier functional activities, a longer treatment period may be needed.
Keywords
Ankle Injeries Dry Needling Proprioception Recovery of Function
Copyright
© 2024, Author(s). This open-access article is available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which allows for unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original work is properly cited.