Masters Theses

Date of Award

5-1999

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Human Performance and Sport Studies

Major Professor

Songning Zhang

Committee Members

Wendell Liemohn, David Bassett

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of three different ankle braces on rearfoot motion and ground reaction force (GRF) data. The braces used included the Aircast Air-Stirrup, Aircast Sport-Stirrup, and Active Ankle. Ten healthy and active male subjects, with no history of lower extremity injury, served as subjects for the study. Rearfoot kinematics (Panasonic, 60 Hz) and ground reaction forces (AMTI, 1000 Hz) were sampled simultaneously during data collection. Each subject performed five walking trials (at his own pace) across a walkway without a brace and with each brace in a total of four conditions. Customized software was used to compute variables describing rearfoot motion as well as vertical, anterior-posterior, and medial-lateral GRF. All kinematic variables indicated a trend toward greater rearfoot control with the braces. Of these, time to maximum eversion angle (TMaxEV) and toe-off angle (TOAngle) were found to have significant differences. For the kinetic analysis, the three GRF components indicated a trend toward rearfoot control during the braced conditions. Excursion values from 0-30% (Excl) and 0-50% (Exc2) of the stance phase were found to have significant differences. Braking impulse (IBrk) was found to be the only significant anterior-posterior GRF variable, while no significant variables were noted for the vertical GRF component. The braces in this study seemed to be able to control and stabilize rearfoot movement to an extent, although this was dependent on the design and intended use of each brace.

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