Abstract
Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the effect of chiropractic manipulation of the ankle, ankle joint flossing and a combination of these two treatments on ankle range of motion in patients with a chronic ankle inversion injury. Method: The study consisted of thirty participants with the presence of a chronic ankle inversion injury. Participants were aged between 18 to 45 years old and met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The participants were randomly allocated to one of three groups. Group one received chiropractic manipulation of the ankle followed by ankle tissue flossing for two minutes. Group two received ankle tissue flossing for two minutes. Group three received chiropractic manipulation of the ankle. Participants attended a total of seven consultations over a three week period. Treatment was administered during consultation one to consultation six, objective measurements were recorded before treatment was administered and five minutes post treatment during consultations. Objective measurements of ankle dorsiflexion and plantarflexion range of motion was recorded through the use of a handheld manual goniometer and objective measurements of ankle dorsiflexion range of motion was recorded through the use of the weight-bearing lunge test (WBLT). A statistician then analysed the objective data. Results: There was no statistical significance between before treatment measurements and five minutes post-treatment measurements, therefore an average of the two measurements was used for further data analysis. The mixed between within anova revealed that all three treatment groups showed a potential improvement in ankle dorsiflexion and plantarflexion measurements over time, however, there was no statistical significance detected between treatment groups, most likely due to the small sample size...
M.Tech. (Chiropractic)