Dorsiflexion Range of Motion in Copers and Those with Chronic Ankle Instability

The Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool (CAIT) is used to classify individuals as ankle sprain copers, or as one suffering from chronic ankle instability (CAI). However, literature examining factors contributing to these classifications on the CAIT is lacking, as the CAIT itself does not offer explanations for specific anthropometric measures that influence a patient’s classification. Therefore, the purpose was to determine if there was a difference between dorsiflexion active range of motion (AROM) between copers, those with CAI, and a healthy control group. Twenty-two individuals with recent ankle sprains were recruited by a convenience sampling method and placed in the coper (5 females, 5 males, age: 21.9 ± 1.5 years, height: 173.74 ± 7.69 cm, weight: 69.75 ± 10.50 kg) or CAI (10 females, 2 males, age: 21.8 ± 2.3 years, height: 173.99 ± 10.86 cm, weight: 68.14 ± 10.63 kg) groups. The remaining 10 individuals (4 females, 6 males, age: 23.2 ± 1.5 years, height: 178.05 ± 12.92 cm, weight: 75.65 ± 8.00 kg) who participated in the study served as control, as they had never sustained a previous ankle sprain. Dorsiflexion AROM measurements were evaluated using an inclinometer during a weight-bearing lunge. Three measurements were taken for each participant and used for statistical analysis. There was no statistically significant difference in average dorsiflexion AROM between the coper, control, and CAI groups (F_2,29 = 2.063, p = 0.15, ω = 0.06, 1 – β = 0.40). Further research is needed to determine if limited dorsiflexion AROM is indeed a contributing factor to an individual’s classification as a coper or suffering from CAI, as defined by the CAIT.