Stephen J. Kinzey is Assistant Professor at Department of Exercise Science and Leisure Management, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677.
J Athl Train. 1997 Oct;32(4):300-3.
Although ankle braces supposedly protect the ankle by providing mechanical support of the joint and enhancing proprioceptive input, their proprioceptive effects are unclear. Measuring the center of pressure during posture provides a reasonably well-controlled evaluation of proprioceptive input at the ankle. We, therefore, compared the changes in the center of pressure resulting from wearing ankle braces and wearing no brace (control).
Center-of-pressure variables were measured during a one-legged modified Romberg test with six variations. The six test conditions systematically altered the three sensory modalities that control posture: visual input, vestibular input, and proprioceptive input. Subjects performed three 16-second trials of each Romberg variation for each brace condition.
Twenty-four male volunteers (age = 18 to 26 yr) with no history of ankle injuries in the past 5 years and no difficulty with balance.
Center of pressure, transmitted through the bottom of the foot, was monitored during each trial and transformed into total distance traveled, anterior-posterior (AP) position, and medial-lateral (ML) position.
Average AP and ML center-of-pressure positions were increased only during brace wearing when all sensory modalities were functioning normally (control condition). Total center-of-pressure distance was the same for all three brace conditions.
Our results do not support or refute the concept that bracing enhances proprioception. The fact that subjects relocated their center of pressure only during the control condition is perplexing. If braces were to enhance proprioception, one would expect to see lower average ML and average AP center-of-pressure values when comparing the braced with the unbraced conditions. Alternatively, the relocated position may represent a more stable position resulting from enhanced proprioception.
尽管踝部支具据称通过提供关节的机械支撑和增强本体感觉输入来保护踝关节，但它们的本体感觉效果尚不清楚。通过测量姿势中的压力中心，可以合理地评估踝关节的本体感觉输入。因此，我们比较了佩戴踝部支具和不佩戴支具（对照）时压力中心的变化。
在单腿改良 Romberg 测试中，使用六种变体测量了压力中心变量。这六种测试条件系统地改变了控制姿势的三种感觉模态：视觉输入、前庭输入和本体感觉输入。受试者在每个支具条件下对每种 Romberg 变体进行三次 16 秒的试验。
24 名男性志愿者（年龄为 18 至 26 岁），过去 5 年内无踝关节受伤史，无平衡困难。
在每次试验中，通过脚底监测压力中心，并将其转换为总行程、前后（AP）位置和内外（ML）位置。
只有在所有感觉模态正常（对照条件）时，佩戴支具时，AP 和 ML 压力中心位置的平均位置才会增加。三种支具条件下的总压力中心距离均相同。
我们的结果既不支持也不反驳支具增强本体感觉的概念。在对照条件下，受试者仅重新定位其压力中心的事实令人费解。如果支具确实增强了本体感觉，那么在比较支具和无支具条件时，人们会期望看到较低的平均 ML 和平均 AP 压力中心值。或者，重新定位的位置可能代表由于本体感觉增强而导致的更稳定的位置。
