Comparison of Thrust Manipulation versus Non-Thrust Mobilization on Functional Deficit in Athletes with Chronic Ankle Sprain; A Randomized Clinical Trial

Abstract

Background: Chronic ankle sprain is a widespread musculoskeletal injury affecting functional performance with long-term health cost effects on the quality of an athlete’s life. Manual therapy techniques performed on the ankle joint are an effective intervention that should be part of a complete treatment plan for athletes with an ankle sprain. Objective: To compare the effects of thrust manipulation with non-thrust mobilization on pain in chronic ankle sprain among athletes. Methods: It was a randomized controlled trial conducted at Pakistan Sports Board and Model Town Football Club, Lahore. A purposive sampling technique was used to collect the data as per the inclusion criteria of the participants aged between 16 to 40 years’ males. Participants were randomized into two groups; Group A received the thrust manipulation group and group B of non-thrust mobilization was given to the rear foot. Each group was given a baseline exercise protocol. The patient completed the foot & ankle ability measure scale being used as the primary outcome measure and 15 points of the Global Rating of Change scale. Using SPSS version 24, baseline characteristics were presented as mean and standard deviation. Between-group comparison using independent samples t-test was done, with a p-value≤0.05 considered significant. Results: The results regarding sociodemographic patients’ characteristics showed that the mean and standard deviation for age and body mass index were found to be 22.50±2.00 and 22.65±1.14 in the thrust manipulation group while 23.37±2.66 and 23.03±1.97 in the non-thrust mobilization group respectively with the statistical difference of p>0.005. The results regarding between-group comparison using an independent sample t-test showed a significant difference at the post-interventional level for both scales in favor of thrust manipulation (p<0.001). Conclusion: This study found that both muscle thrust manipulation and non-thrust mobilization were effective, but the method of thrust manipulation was clinically and statistically more effective in improving functional capacity in athletes with chronic ankle sprain.