Rehabilitation With Stroboscopic Glasses Alters Ankle Joint Kinematics During Walking For Chronic Ankle Instability Patients

PURPOSE: Various forms of physical rehabilitation can improve range of motion, muscular strength, and postural control for chronic ankle instability (CAI) patients. Physical rehabilitation using stroboscopic glasses is thought to engage more somatosensory information while decreasing visual input, restoring the impaired somatosensory system of CAI patients. The purpose of this study was to identify effects of balance training involving stroboscopic glasses on walking kinematics for CAI patients. METHODS: Fifty CAI patients were assigned to 2 groups (control and strobe). Patients performed rehabilitative exercises 3x a week for 4 weeks. Patients in the strobe group wore stroboscopic glasses during the exercises. Three-dimensional hip, knee, and ankle kinematics during gait were quantified via motion analysis. Functional data analyses were used to evaluate differences, before and after the exercises, for sagittal-plane ankle, knee, and hip joint angles during the stance phase of walking, between control and strobe groups. RESULTS: A significant group×time interaction (p < 0.05) was found for ankle angle (Figure 1). The strobe group showed greater dorsiflexion during the first 12% of stance, from pre- to post-rehab. The control group showed greater plantarflexion between 15 and 50% of stance, from pre- to post-rehab. No statistical differences were observed for sagittal-plane hip or knee angle. CONCLUSIONS: The strobe group demonstrated walking biomechanics that would decrease lateral ankle sprain risk (increased dorsiflexion) as a result of rehab involving stroboscopic glasses; suggesting that rehabilitation with stroboscopic glasses may effectively alter ankle joint kinematics in a way that reduces reinjury risk for CAI patients.