Comparing ankle range of motion, arthrokinematic posterior glide motion, and muscular stiffness of the triceps surae in Division 1 female gymnasts to Division 1 female non-jumping athletes

As gymnasts experience greater ankle injury than other female athletes, we investigated injury risk factors in this population. Decreased dorsiflexion range of motion (ROM) has been shown to increase injury risk with jump landing because of the decrease time of landing, thus increasing ground reaction forces. Factors that affect the amount of ROM in the ankle include arthrokinematic restrictions of the joint capsule which will be measured by an arthrometer and a talar glide, as well as tenomuscular restrictions in the form of increased muscle stiffness. These measurements, along with weight bearing and non-weight bearing ROM were assessed for differences across the two groups of athletes. It was found there was a significantly lesser dorsiflexion ROM in gymnasts (15.19 +/- 4.59 vs 19.47 +/- 5.93 degrees, P =0.015). We also found a significantly greater amount of plantar flexion ROM (68.43 +/- 6.36 vs 55.1 +/- 9.53 degrees, P <0.001) and arthrokinematic motion (9.31+/-3.6 vs 5.22+/-3.61 mm, P=0.045) in gymnasts. No differences were seen in weight bearing lunge, muscle stiffness, or talar glide measurements.