Effect of inversion and ankle bracing on peroneus longus Hoffmann reflex

Effect of inversion and ankle bracing on peroneus longus Hoffmann reflex
Published article online:
01 Nov 2006
Issue online:
07 Oct 2007
Accepted for publication 11 August 2006
To cite this article: J. M. Sefton, C. A. Hicks-Little, D. M. Koceja, M. L. Cordova (2007)
Effect of inversion and ankle bracing on peroneus longus Hoffmann reflex
Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports 17 (5), 539Ò546.
doi:10.1111/j.1600-0838.2006.00593.x
Blackwell Synergy

J. M. Sefton11Biodynamics Research Laboratory, Department of Kinesiology, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, , C. A. Hicks-Little11Biodynamics Research Laboratory, Department of Kinesiology, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, , D. M. Koceja22Motor Control Laboratory, Department of Kinesiology & Program in Neural Science, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA, , M. L. Cordova1,31Biodynamics Research Laboratory, Department of Kinesiology, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, 3Center for Biomedical Engineering Systems, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Science, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

Corresponding author: J. M. Sefton, Department of Kinesiology, Belk Gymnasium, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina 28223, USA. Tel: 704-687-4112. E-mail: jmsefton@email.uncc.edu

Abstract
This study examined peroneus longus (PL) Hoffmann reflex (H-reflex) during sudden inversion perturbation of the ankle/foot complex under an ankle brace and non-brace condition. Ten healthy subjects volunteered. H-reflexes were tested on the up-sloping portion of the recruitment curve, utilizing a control trial M-wave above motor threshold to maintain consistency between subjects and conditions. The PL H/maximum M-wave (Mmax) ratio was established using the PL H-reflex and PL Mmax peak-to-peak measures. The mean ratio across five trials for each subject under each ankle brace (brace, no brace) and surface (flat, inversion) conditions was utilized for analysis. The 1 ? 4 repeated measures ANOVA revealed a significant main effect for treatment condition (P<0.0001). The PL H/Mmax ratio significantly increased during sudden inversion-no ankle brace condition compared with the flat surface no-ankle brace condition (P=0.04). Application of an ankle brace had no effect on PL H/Mmax ratio during inversion (P=0.78). During this study PL H/Mmax ratios increased during an inversion perturbation in healthy ankles. This is believed to occur due to heightened sensorimotor demand placed on the nervous system during this motion. Moreover, application of an ankle brace during inversion does not appear to affect PL H/Mmax ratio.

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