Could socks play an active role in ankle sprain prevention? A preliminary investigation
			
	
 
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				1
				North Polytechnic Institute of Health, CESPU, Portugal
				 
			 
						
				2
				Center for Rehabilitation Research (CIR), Polytechnic of Porto, Portugal
				 
			 
						
				3
				School of Health Sciences, Polytechnic of Porto, Portugal
				 
			 
										
				
				
		
		 
			
			
			
			 
			Submission date: 2020-11-05
			 
		 		
		
			
			 
			Final revision date: 2021-02-16
			 
		 		
		
		
			
			 
			Acceptance date: 2021-02-16
			 
		 		
		
		
			
			 
			Publication date: 2021-03-31
			 
		 			
		 
	
							
					    		
    			 
    			
    				    					Corresponding author
    					    				    				
    					Rui M Torres   
    					North Polytechnic Institute of Health, CESPU, R. Central da Gandra 1317, 4585-116, Paredes, Portugal
    				
 
    			
				 
    			 
    		 		
			
												 
		
	 
		
 
 
TRENDS in Sport Sciences 2021;28(2)
 
 
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ABSTRACT
Introduction. Ankle sprain represents about 10% to 30% of all recorded musculoskeletal injuries, and is one of the most prevalent injuries in sports. Thus, any type of intervention based on prevention is extremely important to reduce its incidence. Aim of Study. To compare the immediate effect of three different types of socks, namely standard, compression, and Prevent Sprain Technology (PST) socks, on the dynamic unipodal balance and ankle joint position sense in healthy participants. Material and Methods. Forty-two healthy adults, aged 20.34 ± 1.69 years old, volunteered to participate in the study. Participants were randomly assessed using three different sock models. The main measured outcomes selected for this study were the dynamic balance using the Biodex Balance System®, and the active ankle joint repositioning movement through the Biodex System Pro 4®. We used the Friedman test to compare the variables under study among the three conditions, with Dunn’s post-hoc analysis and a significance level of 0.05. Results. In the Biodex Balance System® the participants had a lower Global Instability Index value with the PST socks compared to compression socks (p = 0.031), and standard socks (p = 0.005), but only lower anteroposterior (p = 0.042) and mediolateral (p = 0.026) instability indices when compared to standard socks. Regarding the ankle joint position sense, subjects with PST socks revealed lower absolute errors compared to standard socks (p = 0.007), smaller minimum errors compared to compression socks (p = 0.049), and smaller maximum errors compared to compression socks (p = 0.049) and standard socks (p = 0.008). Analysis of relative errors revealed a significant miss regarding the target joint position at higher inversion angles only with standard socks (which is potentially more dangerous) when compared to PST socks (p = 0.031), which error tends to be at lower inversion angles (which is potentially less dangerous). Conclusions. The PST socks seem to have a global positive influence on the mechanisms underlying the dynamic unipodal balance and active joint position sense, which could be an important tool for ankle sprain prevention.