Proprioceptive training reduces the risk of ankle sprain recurrence in athletes.

Question: Does a home-based proprioceptive exercise program reduce the one-year incidence of recurrent lateral ankle sprain in athletes? Design: Randomised controlled trial. Setting: Participants were recruited through primary care clinics as well as through advertisements in magazines, on the internet, and at sports tournaments in The Netherlands. Participants: 522 athletes aged 12–70 years with a lateral ankle sprain in the preceding 2 months were allocated to one of two groups, using concealed allocation. The groups were comparable at baseline with respect to age, sex, hours of sports exposure, and history of ankle sprains. Interventions: Athletes in both groups were free to seek and use any treatment they chose for their original ankle sprain. When any such interventions were complete and the athlete had returned to sport, only the intervention group additionally received an 8-week, unsupervised home-based proprioceptive training program, designed by physiotherapists. The program consisted of 3 sessions per week of up to 30 minutes each. An instructional DVD, exercise sheets, balance board, and web-based resources Proprioceptive training reduces the risk of ankle sprain recurrence in athletes