The Effects of Gentle Movements at the Ankle in Individuals With Diminished Range of Motion

University of Virginia

Status: Unknown

Conditions: Lateral Ankle Sprain

Treatments: Other: Grade IV AP joint mobilizations; Other: Sham ("laying of hands") intervention

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT01119092

14794 (Other Grant/Funding Number)

14787

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this study is the examine the effects of gentle movements applied to the ankle joint and stretching on self-reported function, ankle motion and stiffness in individuals who have suffered from an ankle sprain within the last year and have decreased ankle motion.

Full description

The purpose of this study is the examine the effects of a grade IV anterior to posterior joint mobilization and stretching on self-reported function, dorsiflexion range of motion, talar glide and stiffness in individuals who have suffered from an ankle sprain within the last year and have a 5° dorsiflexion range of motion deficit.

We will quantify range of motion with standard goniometric measures, stiffness with the use of an instrumented ankle arthrometer, talar glide with the use of the posterior talar glide test and self-reported function using the foot and ankle ability measure (FAAM) and FAAM-sport.

Enrollment: 40 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 50 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• History of a lateral ankle sprain within the last year
• Dorsiflexion range of motion deficit of 5°
• Return to full activity prior to participation in this study
• Individuals with dorsiflexion range of motion that is less than degrees of dorsiflexion.

Exclusion criteria

• A history of ankle surgery that involves intra-articular fixation
• Syndesmotic ankle sprain (to be ruled out based on the attending certified athletic trainers diagnosis)
• A history or signs of reflex sympathetic dystrophy
• Suffer from an acute injury in the lower extremity within the last 6 weeks
• Have received manual therapy for the ankle sprain prior to enrollment

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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40 participants in 3 patient groups

Sham intervention plus standard treatment

Sham Comparator group

Description:

This group will receive a "laying of hands" treatment in addition to standard treatment. The clinician will place his/her hands in a position to perform the AP joint mobilizations but will not actually perform them. The sham treatment will be performed 3 times and each will last a period of 60 seconds with a one minute rest in between.

Treatment:

Other: Sham ("laying of hands") intervention

Control Group

No Intervention group

Description:

This group will be individuals who suffer from the same injury but will be instructed to stretch at home 5 days a week for 2 weeks.

Grade IV AP joint mobilization plus standard treatment

Experimental group

Description:

This group will receive 3 60-second treatments of Grade IV AP joint mobilizations of the talus during each treatment session, with a one minute rest in between each treatment.

Treatment:

Other: Grade IV AP joint mobilizations