Cross-education effect of balance training program in patients with chronic ankle instability: A randomized controlled trial.

Abstract Chronic ankle instability (CAI) is frequently developed due to failure of the functional rehabilitation after acute ankle sprain. So, there is a need for an alternative way by which we can begin neuro-muscular control retraining sooner. Purpose: This study was conducted to examine the effect of 6-week Single-limb Balance Training Program of the non-affected side on the Overall Stability Index (OASI), Antero-Posterior Stability Index (APSI), and the Medio-Lateral Stability Index (MLSI) of the affected side in females with unilateral CAI. Methods: Thirty-two female patients with CAI with mean age 20.96 ± 1.69 years participated in this study. They were randomly assigned into three groups: experimental group A (Cross-Education) (n=11) performed the exercises for the non-affected side, experimental group B (Traditional Training) (n=11) performed the exercises for the affected side, and Control group C (n=10) did not perform any exercises. The randomization was done using statistical random tables. Data were collected using the Biodex Balance system before and after training. Results: Two-way mixed design MANOVA revealed that there were significant improvements in the mean values of the OASI, APSI and MLSI after training (p 0.05) between the pre and post-training mean values of the OASI, MLSI and APSI in the Control group (C). Conclusion: Single-limb balance training for the non-affected side is effective in improving the postural control of the affected side in patients with CAI.