The Effects of Subtalar Joint Ankle Brace and Shoes on Static Postural Balance in Elderly

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of subtalar joint ankle brace used with shoes on static postural sway and limb load asymmetry (LLA) in elderly. METHOD: 620 healthy adults volunteered. These subjects were administered with the balance test on three different conditions, with bare foot, with shoes only and with aircast and shoes. All subjects were divided into two groups; younger ( or =65 years) group and tested for LLA and postural sway with a balance tester. RESULTS: In both younger and older group, wearing shoes only and wearing ankle brace with shoes reduced the LLA and postural sway significantly compared to bare foot condition (p<0.05). In older group, there was also significant LLA and postural sway reduction in wearing ankle brace with shoes compared to wearing shoes only (p<0.05). The differences of LLA between bare foot and ankle brace with shoes in older group was more prominent than in younger group (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Wearing a subtalar joint ankle brace with shoes improved right-left static postural balance as compared with wearing shoes alone in elderly.