Context: Kinematic patterns during gait have not been extensively studied in relation to chronic ankle instability (CAI).
Objective: To determine whether individuals with CAI demonstrate altered ankle kinematics and shank-rear-foot coupling compared with controls during walking and jogging.
Design: Case control.
Setting: Motion-analysis laboratory.
Participants: 7 participants (3 men, 4 women) suffering from CAI (age 24.6 +/- 4.2 y, height 172.6 +/- 9.4 cm, mass 70.9 +/- 8.1 kg) and 7 (3 men, 4 women) healthy, matched controls (age 24.7 +/- 4.5 y, height 168.2 +/- 5.9 cm, mass 66.5 +/- 9.8 kg).
Interventions: Subjects walked and jogged on a treadmill while 3-dimensional kinematics of the lower extremities were captured.
Main outcome measures: The positions of rear-foot inversion-eversion and shank rotation were calculated throughout the gait cycle. Continuous relative-phase angles between these segments were calculated to assess coupling.
Results: The CAI group demonstrated more rear-foot inversion and shank external rotation during walking and jogging. There were differences between groups in shank-rear-foot coupling during terminal swing at both speeds.
Conclusions: Altered ankle kinematics and joint coupling during the terminal-swing phase of gait may predispose a population with CAI to ankle-inversion injuries. Less coordinated movement during gait may be an indication of altered neuromuscular recruitment of the musculature surrounding the ankle as the foot is being positioned for initial contact.