KINEMATICS ANALYSIS OF FIVE ANKLE INVERSION LIGAMENTOUS SPRAIN INJURY CASES IN TENNIS

Abstract

Ankle sprain injury is very common in sport and this study investigated its kinematics. Five injury incidents captured in televised tennis competitions were analysed by a modelbased image-matching motion analysis technique. Results showed a trend of sudden ankle inversion and internal rotation but not plantarflexion. The peak inversion was achieved explosively in a very short time, which is within 0.09-0.17s, after the foot strike. All but one case presented with a slightly inverted ankle joint at foot strike of 10-24 degrees, which should have incited the injury event. We recommend tennis players who perform repetitive sideward cutting motions to attempt to land with a neutral ankle orientation, and to keep their centre of plantar pressure from shifting to the lateral aspect, in order to prevent an ankle inversion sprain injury.