Introduction: Lateral ankle sprains are one of the most common musculoskeletal injuries in athletes, accounting for approximately 15% of all injuries and leading to long-term absence from sports activities. The current research aims to compare the effect of neuromuscular and traditional training on postural control and ground reaction forces in 15-18-year-old girls with a history of ankle ligament sprains.
Methods: The present study is designed as a quasi-experimental applied approach and uses a pre-test-post-test design. The statistical sample of this study included 30 participants with a history of ankle sprain (15 participants in each group) aged 15 to 18 years. This study includes two experimental groups: the first group received neuromuscular training and the second group received traditional training. A force plate was used to evaluate postural control and ground reaction forces in girls with a history of ankle ligament sprains. To analyze the data, two-way analysis of variance and Bonferroni post hoc tests were performed at a significance level of p ≤ 0.05. Statistical software SPSS version 26 and Excel 2019 were used for statistical calculations.
Results: The results of the present study showed that both neuromuscular training (p = 0.001) and traditional training (p = 0.001) had a significant effect on postural control and ground reaction forces during walking. Also, the research results showed that there is a significant difference between neuromuscular and traditional training on postural control and ground reaction forces during walking in participants (p = 0.001).
Conclusion: The results of the present study showed that neuromuscular training has a better effect on the components of postural control and ground reaction forces than traditional training. Therefore, it is recommended that in the rehabilitation phase after injury to the lateral ligament of the ankle, as well as during chronic ankle sprain, trainers and rehabilitation professionals use neuromuscular exercises to improve the clinical and functional outcomes of these patients.