Papadopoulos Emmanuel S, Nikolopoulos Christos, Badekas Athanasios, Vagenas George, Papadakis Stamatios A, Athanasopoulos Spyros
Department of Physical Education and Sports Science, University of Athens, Greece.
BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2007 Sep 12;8:89. doi: 10.1186/1471-2474-8-89.
Several studies have been carried out in order to investigate the effect of ankle bracing on ankle joint function and performance. However, no study so far has examined the role of skin-brace interface pressure in neuromuscular control. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different skin-ankle brace interface pressures on quiet single limb balance and the electromyographic (EMG) activation sequence of four lower limb muscles.
Thirty three male physical education students who volunteered to take part in the study were measured under three ankle brace conditions: i) without brace, ii) with brace and 30 kPa application pressure and iii) with brace and 60 kPa application pressure. Single limb balance (anteroposterior and mediolateral parameter) was assessed on the dominant lower limb, with open and closed eyes, on a force platform, simultaneously with the EMG recording of four lower lower limb muscles' (gastrocnemius, peroneus longus, rectus femoris and biceps femoris) activation onset.
The results showed that overall balance (total stability parameter) was not significantly affected in any of the three ankle brace conditions. However, the anteroposterior centre of pressure excursion and centre of pressure excursion velocity were significantly increased with the application of ankle brace, both with 30 and 60 kPa application pressures. Furthermore, it was found that single limb balance was significantly worse with closed eyes compared to open eyes. EMG measurements showed that the sequence of lower limb activation onset was not affected in any of the three ankle brace application conditions. The results of this study showed that the application of an ankle brace with two different skin-brace interface pressures had no effect on overall single limb balance and the sequence of lower limb muscle activation.
These findings suggest that peripheral joint receptors are either not adequately stimulated by the brace application and therefore are not able to alter the balance control strategy of the CNS, or that they play a less important role in the control of single limb balance. Further research is needed in this area with more dynamic and functional measurements, before the safe use of ankle bracing can be widely recommended.
为研究踝关节支具对踝关节功能及表现的影响，已开展了多项研究。然而，目前尚无研究探讨皮肤与支具界面压力在神经肌肉控制中的作用。本研究旨在探究不同皮肤与踝关节支具界面压力对安静单腿平衡及四块下肢肌肉肌电图（EMG）激活顺序的影响。
33名自愿参与研究的男性体育专业学生在三种踝关节支具条件下接受测量：i）不佩戴支具；ii）佩戴支具且施加压力30 kPa；iii）佩戴支具且施加压力60 kPa。在力平台上，对优势下肢进行单腿平衡（前后和内外侧参数）评估，分别在睁眼和闭眼状态下，同时记录四块下肢肌肉（腓肠肌、腓骨长肌、股直肌和股二头肌）激活起始的EMG。
结果表明，在三种踝关节支具条件下，整体平衡（总稳定性参数）均未受到显著影响。然而，施加踝关节支具时，无论是30 kPa还是60 kPa的施加压力，前后向压力中心偏移和压力中心偏移速度均显著增加。此外，发现闭眼时单腿平衡明显比睁眼时差。EMG测量表明，在三种踝关节支具施加条件下，下肢激活起始顺序均未受到影响。本研究结果表明，施加两种不同皮肤与支具界面压力的踝关节支具对整体单腿平衡及下肢肌肉激活顺序没有影响。
这些发现表明，支具的应用要么未充分刺激外周关节感受器，因此无法改变中枢神经系统的平衡控制策略，要么它们在单腿平衡控制中发挥的作用较小。在能够广泛推荐安全使用踝关节支具之前，该领域需要进行更多具有动态性和功能性测量的进一步研究。
