ACTIVE ANKLE RANGE OF MOTION ASSESSMENT IN ELITE TRACK AND FIELD ATHLETES: NORMATIVE VALUES

Lateral ankle sprains account for 15% to 45% of all sports related injuries. Although often considered minor, they can lead to persistent disability in athletes and long term complications. Over the last decade, several studies have provided the opportunity to develop novel therapeutic strategies. Range of Motion is an important physical characteristic in athletes in terms of performance and injury prevention. Goniometry is an easy and cheap method to assess active ankle range of motion (AROM) to establish normative values. We assessed AROM in elite track and field athletes. During 1999–2011, we measured bilaterally the Ankle AROM with the knee extended during an in-season period with a plastic double-arm goniometer in 137 Elite Greek Track and Field Athletes. Male runners (dominant leg=70.90, non dominant leg=70.60) and jumpers(dominant leg=70.90, non dominant=70.90) had a higher mean AROM than throwers(dominant leg=69.20, non dominant=68.60).Female jumpers had a higher mean AROM(dominant leg=73.20, non dominant=72.30 than both runners(dominant leg=69.60, non dominant=69.50) and throwers (dominant leg=69.1, non dominant=69.50)