Introduction: The purpose of this study was investigate the effect of Neoprene, lace-up and Aircast ankle orthosis on balance indexes of volleyball players with unstable ankle degree I and II.
Materials and Methods: Thid article is original. Fifteen men volleyball players with unstable ankle grade I and II were recruited (18-23 years). They had at least 3 years experience of playing in different volleybal leagues. Four testing conditions included a no orthosis, Neoprene ankle orthosis, lace-up ankle orthosis, and Aircast ankle orthosis. Postural control test (single leg stability testing in difficult level of 12) was performed by Biodex Balance System. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and one-way repeated measures at the significance level of %95 or a£.05.
Results: Data analyses showed that the overall index of postural control had a significant decrease while applying either types of ankle orthoses. According to the obtained results, all three types of ankle orthoses s could improve postural control (P<.05). Neoprene ankle orthosis was more efficient than lace-up and Aircast ankle orthoses (P<.05). Although the lace-up orthosis was more effective than Aircast ankle orthosis in ankle stability, but the difference was not prominently significant (P>.05).
Conclusion: In athletes with unstable ankle, all three types of ankle orthosis, could prevent ankle sprain via improving the postural control index. Especially in volleyball players with unstable ankle grade I and II, Neoprene ankle support was more effective than other types of ankle orthosis.