Ankle exercise results differed across movement and sensation outcomes
Exercise improved selected abilities in chronic ankle instability, while force sense and strength during muscle lengthening showed no statistically significant improvement.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Balance training improved reported function, balance during movement, joint position sense, strength during muscle shortening and task performance. Strength training improved a narrower set of reported outcomes. However, no exercise approach significantly improved force sense or strength during muscle lengthening. The abstract does not establish a best exercise approach for each person's ankle problems.
Study quality varied, including trials at high risk of bias. The abstract omits effect estimates and intervention or follow-up lengths, limiting judgments about the size and persistence of improvements.
What researchers found
Force sense and eccentric strength
Exercise versus no intervention; assessment timing was not reported. Eccentric strength refers to strength during muscle lengthening.
What the comparison supports
Eligible trials compared exercise with no intervention. Although the authors describe different patterns across exercise types, the abstract does not establish direct superiority of balance training over another approach.
Different outcomes, different patterns
Strength training improved reported function, balance during movement and strength during muscle shortening. Vibration training improved only balance during movement, illustrating why results for different abilities should be considered separately.
The original publication
Exercise Therapy for Chronic Ankle Instability: Which Modality for Which Deficit? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Xu JS, Lin HJ, Li ZK et al.
J Foot Ankle Res · 2026
- PubMed ID
- 41771785
- Record checked
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