Comparison the effect and maintenance of neuromuscular training with or without massage on balance and proprioceptive performance in female athletes with chronic ankle instability

Several studies have revealed the effect of neuromuscular training on balance improvement of athletes suffering from chronic ankle instability; however, a few of them have addressed its combined effect with massage as well as its maintenance of effect. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to compare the effect and maintenance of neuromuscular training with and without massage on balance performance in female athletes with chronic ankle instability.
The participants of this study comprised 24 female athletes suffering from chronic ankle instability whose age ranged from 19 to 26 years. The participants were selected equally from different ball sportsbased on convenience sampling. Moreover, they were randomly divided into two experimental groups: Group 1 (n=12) and Group 2 (n=12). Biodex Balance System was used to examine their balance. Group 1 had ankle massages followed by neuromuscular training, and Group 2 took neuromuscular training for six weeks; three successive sessions per week. Subsequently, there was a four-week break in order to scrutinize the effect of short-term maintenance, thus the variables were measured again. To analyze the data, Repeated Measures and ANCOVA were employed.
The findings of this study showed that there was a statistically significant difference between neuromuscular exercises with massage and those without massage (p0.05).
According to the results of the study, neuromuscular training with and without massage can improve athletes’ balance performance for a month of maintenance.