THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NEUROCOGNITION AND BIOMECHANICAL MEASURES RELATED TO LATERAL ANKLE SPRAINS AMONG HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS

Abstract

Lateral ankle sprains (LAS) are among the most common musculoskeletal injuries. Despite availability of treatment and prevention protocols to address LAS- associated impairments, injury rates remain high. Which demonstrate the need for further investigation of LAS causes and potential mechanisms underlying predisposition to reinjury. Most daily activities and sports demand a high level of cognitive processing, especially with novel activities. The primary aim of this study was to explore the relationship between neurocognitive capacity with ankle joint biomechanics in novel conditions during static and dynamic posture stability. The secondary aims were to explore the effect of cognition on dynamic posture stability and to determine the association between physical activity and neurocognitive capacity. This was a cross- sectional study of 20 healthy subjects (25± 4.6years). The overarching hypothesis was that lower neurocognitive performance would be associated with poor posture stability and ankle joint biomechanics during dual-tasking activities. Testing included a comprehensive baseline neurocognitive assessment of working memory, inhibition, mental flexibility and reaction time, followed by the performance of three dual-tasks including: 1) unanticipated drop jump landing, 2) single leg stance, 3) jump landing. The results of the current study revealed that working memory was a significant predictor of static postural instability during dual-tasking, and increased practices prior to perform the jump landing. Furthermore, working memory and inhibition were significant predictors of number of landing errors during the performance jump landing to evaluate dynamic stability. During sports-related movements, working memory, mental flexibility and reaction time were significantly associated with altered ankle joint kinematics. Additionally, reaction time was a significant predictor of peak vertical ground reaction forces. As secondary aims, we found that the addition of cognitive loading did not produce a change in time to stabilization following a jump. Also, no significant associations were noted between level of physical activity, duration of physical activity and neurocognitive performance. In conclusion, the inverse relationships discovered between baseline assessment of neurocognition with neuromuscular performance could provide insight for identification of individuals at risk for LAS and for guiding development of prevention efforts.