Effects of Six-week Hopping Exercise on Time to Stabilization and Perceived Stability in Athletes With Chronic Ankle Instability During Single-leg Jump-landing

Introduction: To examine the effects of a 6-week hopping exercise program on time to stabilization and perceived stability among athletes with chronic ankle instability. This is a randomized controlled trial. Materials and Methods: A total of 28 basketball players with chronic ankle instability (Mean±SD age; 22.67±2.88 y, Mean±SD weight: 80.47±8.48 kg, Mean±SD height: 186.82±3.09 cm) participated in this study and were randomly divided into two equal groups of 14 people each: 1. Experimental; and 2. Control. The experimental group performed hop exercises 3 times per week for 6 weeks. The control group received no intervention. Time to stabilization for anteriorposterior and medial-lateral components of ground reaction force, as well as ankle joint function assessment tool were found before and immediately after the exercise program. Descriptive statistics, independent t-test, and paired sample t-test were used to analyze the data at the significance level of 95% (α≤0.05). Results: The 6-week hopping exercise program led to a significant decrease in the time to stabilization of medial-lateral and anterior-posterior of ground reaction force and also a significant increase in the score of ankle joint function assessment tool (P<0.05). Conclusion: Given the effectiveness of hopping exercises, postural control deficit, and time to stabilization in sport exercises, it is suggested that these selected exercises be used in training and rehabilitation protocols.