1.Effects of simplified Tai Chi intervention on rehabilitation and neuromuscular control in individuals with chronic ankle instability
Guocai XU ; Huiru TANG ; Zhilong FAN ; Jiangna WANG ; Cui ZHANG ; Xiangkun NIE
Chinese Journal of Sports Medicine 2024;43(9):681-688
Objective To explore the effect of 12-week simplified Tai Chi training on rehabilitation and neuromuscular control in individuals with chronic ankle instability(CAI).Methods Thirty-four partic-ipants with CAI were randomly divided into an experimental group and a control group,each of 17.The control group received 12-week health education,while the experimental group underwent simpli-fied Tai Chi training for the same length.Before and after the intervention,both groups were evaluat-ed their self-reported instability feeling,ankle muscle strength,proprioception and dynamic postural stability.Results After intervention,a significant increase was observed in the average Cumberland An-kle Instability Tool(CAIT),the maximum extension distance in the posteromedial and posterolateral di-rections of the modified Star Excursion Balance Test(mSEBT)in,as well as the ankle peak torque in plantarflexion,inversion and eversion(P<0.05)in the experimental.Moreover,the ankle passive motion proprioceptive threshold in plantarflexion and inversion decreased significantly in the experimental group after intervention(P<0.05).Meanwhile,after intervention,the average CAIT score,maximum ex-tension distances in the posteromedial and posterolateral directions in the mSEBT,and the ankle peak torques in plantarflexion,inversion and eversion of the experimental group were significantly higher than the control group(P<0.05),while the ankle passive motion proprioceptive threshold in plantarflex-ion was significantly lower than the latter(P<0.05).Conclusion Twelve-week simplified Tai Chi train-ing can improve the clinical subjective instability of CAI participants,maybe related to the improve-ment of ankle muscle strength,proprioception and dynamic postural stability.Therefore,it is suggest-ed that simplified Tai Chi should be one of the rehabilitation methods for CAI patients.