As athletes, volleyball players strive for optimal performance while avoiding the incidence of injury. Ankle braces, which are most commonly used by volleyball players to minimize the risk of injury are the Ankle Stabilizing Orthosis© EVO (ASO) lace up and Active Ankle© T2 (T2) rigid braces. Volleyball players wear ankle braces either unilaterally or bilaterally, but there no previous research has evaluated this comparison. It has been reported that ankle braces reduce the risk of initial and recurring injury, however, the impact that wearing ankle braces has on vertical jump height and agility time is inconclusive. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact that unilateral and bilateral ankle bracing has on kinetic and kinematic measures while wearing the ASO and T2 ankle braces. Competitive female and male volleyball players (n=22) from Lakehead University and Thunder Bay Competitive Volleyball League were recruited. Each participant attended two sessions; the first test day included either the vertical jump test or the agility T-test and the second test day included whichever test they did not complete the first session. During the each of these two testing sessions, the participants completed testing trials while wearing the ASO and T2 braces, unilaterally (UNI) and bilaterally (BI), as well as unbraced (UB). The 2D-kinematic analysis system recorded peak joint angles at the hip, knee, and ankle, while ground reaction forces (GRF) were collected with an Advanced Mechanical Technologies Incorporated® (AMTI) force platform. Vertical jump height was assessed utilizing the VertecTM apparatus and agility times were measured using a Brower timing system. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and repeated measures ANOVAs. Significant bracing effects were found between the braced and unbraced conditions for vertical jump height and agility time. UNI and BI ankle bracing produced statistically significant lower vertical jump heights and slower agility time when compared the UB condition, respectively. Statistically significant interaction effects between brace type and bracing conditions were found in both ankle dorsiflexion and ankle plantarflexion. Furthermore, peak knee flexion angles were significantly lower in the ASO brace than the T2 brace. Lastly, peak hip flexion angle was significantly lower in the BI bracing condition when compared to the UB condition. Based on the findings of this study, both the ASO and T2 braces impact vertical jump and agility performance, however, wearing ankle braces UNI versus BI does not. From this, it is dependent on the individual athlete to determine if the injury prevention benefits which the ankle braces provide is worth the performance deficits experienced while wearing the braces.
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