Spending a few minutes each week on a balance board appears to help prevent ankles sprains in athletes with a history of the injury, new research reports.

A group of Dutch investigators found that, among male and female volleyball players with a history of ankle sprains, those who spent 5 minutes during each warm-up practicing a balance board training program were 60 percent less likely to experience ankle injuries during the season.

Lead study author Evert Verhagen of EMGO-Institute in Amsterdam told Reuters Health the program probably worked because of its "simplicity."

"It was a very minimal intervention that asked minimal time of the participants," Verhagen noted.

However, the researchers note that balance board-users with a history of knee injuries also showed a higher risk of knee problems, suggesting that the exercise may not be the best solution for people with current knee injuries.

"Even so, the use of such a program in volleyball is recommended for players with a history of ankle sprains because in volleyball the risk of ankle sprains outweighs the risk of knee injuries," they write in the American Journal of Sports Medicine.

Ankle injuries are an extremely common feature of a wide range of sports, and athletes who sprain their ankles are more likely to reinjure the same ankle, which can progress to a chronic problem.

Currently, many athletes use braces and tape to prevent ankle sprains. However, both can irritate the ankle, and tape can unwind during play and often needs to be fastened by a professional.

Balance boards consist of a board laid on top of a round device, requiring the use of balance to stay standing on the board. Currently, experts use the balance board to help patients rehabilitate after ankle sprains, to re-strengthen muscles and ligaments.

To test whether a balance board exercise program helps prevent ankle sprains in the first place, the researchers asked 1127 volleyball players to participate in the experiment during the 2001-2002 season, with half spending a few minutes on the program during each warm-up.

Exercises included standing with one leg on the balance board, moving on the balance board or throwing a ball while standing on the board.

The researchers found that balance board-users with a history of ankle sprains were less likely to reinjure themselves than non-users. People with no history of ankle sprains did not appear to benefit from the program.

Balance board-users were just as likely to experience other injuries, including injuries in the back, shoulder and upper extremities.

Moreover, board-users showed a higher risk of knee injuries. However, the authors note that this trend may have been due to chance, given that previous studies with the balance board showed no higher risk of this type of injury and athletes currently use the balance board to help them rehabilitate an injured knee.

However, the authors write that, as a result of strengthening the ankle, balance board-users may be "shifting the weakest link in the injury chain up to the knee joint," putting themselves at risk of another type of injury.

SOURCE: The American Journal of Sports Medicine, September 2004.

Reference Source 89
September 24, 2004

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