Effects of a Lower Extremity Complex Exercise Program on Proprioception and Postural Balance in Patients with Chronic Ankle Instability

Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the effects of a lower-extremity complex exercise program on proprioceptionand postural balance in patients with chronic ankle instabilityDesign: Randomized controlled trialMethods: This study recruited 30 patients with chronic ankle instability. Participants were randomly assigned to either anexperimental group (n = 15) or a control group (n = 15). The experimental group participated in a lower-extremity complexexercise program consisting of 60 minutes of exercise per session three times a week for 4 weeks. In contrast,the control groupreceived no intervention. Proprioception, static balance, and dynamic balance (assessed using the Y-balance test) were evaluatedbefore and after intervention. Within-group pre- and post-intervention differences were analyzed using paired t-tests, andbetween-group differences were assessed using independent t-tests (⍺ = 0.05). Results: The experimental group demonstrated significant improvements in proprioception and static balance, as well as inposteromedial and posterolateral reach distances during the dynamic balance test (p < 0.05). In contrast, there was no significantchange in forward reach distance. The control group exhibited no significant pre-post changes. Between-group comparisonsrevealed significantly greater improvements in the experimental group than in the control group for all measures except forwardreach distance (p < 0.05). Conclusions: This study confirmed that the lower-extremity complex exercise program waseffective in improving proprioceptionand static balance in patients with chronic ankle instability, suggesting that this program can be used as a general interventionmethod for patients with chronic ankle instability.