Abstract:
Objective: To determine the effect of 6-week stroboscopic training on ankle gait mechanics in athletes with chronic ankle instability. Material and Methods: Thirty-nine participants were assigned to the stroboscopic group (SG, n=13), non-stroboscopic group (NSG, n=13), and control group (CG, n=13). Three-dimensional kinematic pretest gait analysis was performed with the Noraxon system. Ankle joint angles were recorded for 75 seconds while the athletes walked on a treadmill at a speed of 3.5 m/s. After the pretest, the SG performed 6 weeks of balance training with stroboscopic vision, the NSG performed 6 weeks of balance training without stroboscopic vision, and the CG received no training. Ankle gait analysis was repeated after 6 weeks. Repeated-measures analysis of variance with one between-subjects factor was performed. Results: Gait analysis revealed a significant increase in ankle dorsiflexion angle between pretest and posttest in the SG (p<0.001, ηp2=0.34). Between-group comparisons showed significantly higher dorsiflexion angle in the SG compared to the CG (p=0.001, ηp2=0.15) and NSG (p=0.002, ηp2=0.11). Gait analysis of 100 kinematic data points starting at heel strike was performed using MATLAB. The results demonstrated the increase in ankle range of motion in the SG occurred in the dorsiflexion angle during the midstance phase of gait. Conclusion: Stroboscopic glasses modulate visual feedback and may be clinically useful in allowing progressive rehabilitationtargeting the dependence on visual feedback for motor control.
