Plantar pressure profile during walking is associated with talar cartilage characteristics in individuals with chronic ankle instability

Background: Individuals with chronic ankle instability typically present with abnormal gait patterns favoring the lateral foot. This gait pattern may alter cartilage stress potentially increasing the risk of osteoarthritis development, thus exploring this relationship may provide insights for early interventions. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship gait biomechanics and talar articular cartilage characteristics. Methods: Talar articular cartilage was assessed with ultrasound at rest and after walking for 30-min in twenty-five adults (14 females, 22.6 ± 3.12 years, 168.12 ± 9.83 cm, 76.00 ± 15.47 kg) with chronic ankle instability. Cartilage was segmented into Total, Medial, and Lateral regions. During the 30-min walking period, plantar pressure of the entire foot was recorded every 5-min and condensed to create a biomechanical loading pattern and center of pressure gait line. Relationships between resting cartilage thickness and echo intensity, changes in thickness and echo intensity, and plantar pressure profiles were assessed with correlation coefficients. Findings: There was a significant relationship between plantar pressure in the lateral forefoot and medial talar cartilage deformation (r = 0.408, p < .05). Early stance center of pressure was correlated with deformation in the total (r = 0.439–0.524) and lateral (r = 0.443–0.550) regions (p < .05). There were no significant correlations between echo intensity and biomechanics. Interpretation: This study contributes to the growing evidence that talar cartilage strain patterns are associated with biomechanics during walking. Further validation is needed to determine a causal relationship between biomechanics and ultrasound cartilage characteristics after ankle sprains. In addition, research should continue determining the utility of ultrasound to monitor joint health after musculoskeletal injuries.