KU Leuven Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation Research Group, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Kinesiology and Rehabilitation Sciences, Leuven, Belgium.
Study Design Controlled laboratory study; prospective. Background Postural stability deficits during single-leg stance have been reported in persons with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, ACL reconstruction, and chronic ankle instability. It remains unclear whether impaired postural stability is a consequence or cause of these injuries.
OBJECTIVEs To prospectively investigate whether postural stability deficits during single-leg stance predict non-contact lower extremity injuries.
METHODS Fifty injury-free female athletes performed a transition task from double-leg stance to single-leg stance with eyes closed. The center of pressure (COP) displacement during the first 3 seconds after the time to new stability point (TAT) was reached during single-leg stance (COP TAT) was the main outcome variable. Non-contact lower extremity injuries were recorded during a 1-year follow-up.
RESULTS Six participants sustained a non-contact ACL injury or ankle sprain. COP TAT was significantly increased in the injured (P=0.030) and non-injured leg (P=0.009) of the injured group compared to the respective matched leg of the non-injured group. The area under the receiving operating characteristic curve analysis (AUC) revealed significant discriminative accuracy between groups for COP TAT of the injured (AUC=0.814; P=0.015) and non-injured leg (AUC=0.897; P=0.004) of the injured group with the matched leg of the non-injured group.
CONCLUSION Postural stability measurements during the single-leg stance phase of the double-leg stance to single-leg stance transition task may is suggestive of increased risk of non-contact lower extremity injury. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther, Epub 3 Jul 2016. doi:10.2519/jospt.2016.6278.