Chronic ankle instability was linked to selected cognitive difficulties
A review linked ongoing ankle instability with selected cognitive differences, but widespread risk of bias and cross-sectional studies leave the causal direction unclear.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Adults with chronic ankle instability showed difficulties in attention, inhibitory control and visual memory. Working-memory and processing-speed findings were mixed, and no deficits were detected in language or motor skills. The review identifies an association, leaving unresolved whether ankle problems contribute to cognitive differences or cognitive differences contribute to ankle problems.
Eighty-three percent of studies were judged to have a high risk of bias. Differences in methods, cross-sectional designs and limited ankle-sprain evidence constrain conclusions about cause and effect and how widely the findings apply.
Why the pattern matters
Researchers used a wide range of cognitive tasks across several domains. This matters because the reported differences were selective, with mixed or null findings in other areas; the review does not describe a uniform cognitive impairment.
What remains uncertain
The authors suggest that cognitive difficulties might contribute to poorer balance when attention is split between tasks. This is a proposed explanation. No statistically significant findings were reported for the group labeled as copers.
The original publication
Neurocognitive Deficits Related to Ligamentous Ankle Injuries: A Systematic Review.
Corlùy H, Schampheleer E, Maricot A et al.
Sports Med Open · 2026
- PubMed ID
- 41739284
- Record checked
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