The Accuracy of Ankle Eccentric Torque Control Explains Dynamic Postural Control During the Y-Balance Test.
Shojiro Nozu, Kristin A Johnson, Tsukasa Tanaka and 3 others
PMID 37795317WHAT IT FOUND
In twelve healthy adults, the accuracy of eccentric ankle dorsiflexion torque control predicted 44% of the variance in Y-Balance Test performance.
Neither isometric strength nor plantarflexion torque accuracy predicted the score. Tibialis anterior muscle activity explained the dorsiflexion torque accuracy.
Key findings
01Accuracy of eccentric dorsiflexion torque control predicted a higher normalized maximum reach distance score on the Y-Balance Test.
02Isometric ankle strength and muscle activity during torque control did not predict Y-Balance Test performance.
03Higher tibialis anterior muscle activity predicted greater accuracy of eccentric dorsiflexion torque control.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study included only twelve healthy young adults without balance disorders or ankle instability, so these relationships cannot be assumed to hold in clinical populations. The small sample size limited the ability to establish correlations among all sensorimotor factors. The study focused only on ankle musculature, ignoring knee and hip contributions to Y-Balance Test performance. The model explained 44% of the variance, meaning over half of the Y-Balance Test performance was due to factors not measured here.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret this as evidence that eccentric torque control training improves dynamic balance or prevents ankle sprains. This was a cross-sectional study of healthy adults that only identified an association; it did not test any intervention or include people with ankle instability.