The effect of ankle flossband application on balance, proprioception and performance

Objective: The aim of the study is to investigate the effects of exercises with flossband on balance, proprioception, and physical performance in the ankle. Materials and Methods: Thirty-six football players were included in the study. As this was a serial group design the same football players were included in both the study group and the control group. There was a 72-hour break between the interventions for the study group and the control group. The study began with the study group. The study group received Flossband application while the control group received foam roller bandage application. The same exercises were conducted alongside both interventions. Measurements were taken before and after the interventions and exercises. Ankle dorsiflexion range of motion was evaluated using the weight-bearing lunge test, static balance using a smartphone application, dynamic balance using the Y-balance test, and proprioception using the joint position sense test. Additionally, the hop test was used to assess jumping performance. Results: At the end of the intervention in the study group, improvement was observed in ankle dorsiflexion range of motion, static and dynamic balance, proprioception, and jump performance (p <0.05). When compared with the control group, ankle dorsiflexion range of motion was statistically significantly higher in the study group than in the control group (p <0.05). Additionally, it is observed that the change occurring after the intervention in the study group has a greater effect than the change observed after the intervention in the control group in evaluations of static balance, dynamic balance, proprioception, and the three-time jump test. Conclusion: In the intra-group pre-test to post-test evaluations, significant differences were observed in ankle dorsiflexion range of motion, static and dynamic balance, proprioception, and jumping performance in the study group (p <0.05). In the control group, significant differences were observed only in the Y-balance test (p <0.05). According to inter-group comparisons; ankle dorsiflexion range of motion was found to be statistically significantly higher in the study group compared to the control group (p <0.05). When assessing the effect size between groups, it was observed that the study group had a larger effect size in static balance, dynamic balance, proprioception, and the three-hop test post-test values compared to the control group values.