Potential Association Between Corticospinal Excitability and Ankle Kinematics in Chronic Ankle Instability Individuals

Neuromuscular deficiencies during a jump-landing task are commonly studied in patients with chronic ankle instability (CAI). Recent studies reported an altered sagittal-plane motion pattern in the ankle of patients with CAI before landing, suggesting altered feed-forward neuromuscular control may be associated with the development of CAI. However, there is no definitive explanation for the origin of the feed-forward neuromuscular alteration. Emerging evidence suggests inhibition of the descending corticospinal motor pathways in the tibialis anterior (TA) muscle may lead to altered feed-forward patterns in CAI population. Determining these associations may illuminate why individuals with CAI display altered neuromuscular control patterns during jump-landing tasks. Therefore, we aim to determine (1) if differences exist in corticospinal excitability of the TA between CAI and healthy controls and (2) associations between corticospinal excitability of the TA and sagittal-plane ankle motions exist during a jump-landing task. The central hypothesis is that individuals with CAI will demonstrate a decrease in corticospinal excitability of the TA compared to healthy controls, which will be associated with altered feed-forward ankle motion patterns. The anticipated results of this study will help to explain neurophysiological consequences of CAI and develop novel and effective rehabilitative approaches for CAI.