• R Schmidt, S Benesch, A Bender, L Claes, and H Gerngross.
• Chirurgische Klinik, Bundeswehrkrankenhaus Ulm. doc.r.schmidt@t-online.de
• Z Orthop Ihre Grenzgeb. 2005 Mar 1;143(2):227-32.

AimThis study was aimed at assessing the outcome of physical therapy based on both subjective patient's satisfaction and objective measurement of peroneal reaction time in patients with chronic ankle instability.Method25 patients with chronic ankle instability based on functional deficits were included. Physical therapy consisted in a 6 weeklong program with muscle strengthening and coordination exercises for one hour, three times a week. Before starting physical therapy as well as two weeks after finishing the program, patients underwent both a clinical exam as well as measurement of their peroneal reaction time.ResultsFollowing physical therapy peroneal reaction time of the long (p = 0.0001) and short (p = 0.0003) peroneal muscles significantly decreased. Prior to physical therapy the Kitaoka score was calculated to be 72.2 (+/- 18.7), the post treatment value was 93.3 (+/- 11.7) with a p-value of < 0.001. As for subjective patient's assessment on a scale of 1-10 with 1 being the least and 10 the most satisfied with therapeutical outcome, patients gave an average post treatment score of 8.3 (+/- 1.9).ConclusionMeasurement of PRT can be used as a helpful diagnostic parameter, as a parameter for quality control and for verification of therapy results. Specific physiotherapy leads to good clinical results and increased PRT.

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