Effect of exercise interventions and prophylactic devices on reducing peroneal muscle reaction time by sudden ankle perturbation: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine whether interventions could improve peroneal reaction time in both healthy and those with injured ankle participants based on a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Method: An electronic search of the following database was carried out: MEDLINE, ScienceDirect and SPORTDiscus (1965-2019). Studies utilising sudden ankle inversion to measure peroneal reaction times were selected. 28 studies were included for the systematic review, and 18 studies for the meta-analysis. The peroneal reaction time for pre-and post-intervention were compared into two groups, Group 1 was therapeutic exercise intervention, and Group 2 was prophylactic devices.
Results: The results showed a statistically significant difference in reduced peroneal reaction time in favour of participants in the exercise group (SMD= 0.74, 95%CI [1.09,0.39], p<0.001, I 2 80%), while the prophylactic devices group showed no significant difference between control and intervention group. The effect size measured was 0.81 and 0.31 in Group 1 and Group 2, respectively.
Conclusion: Faster peroneal muscle onset reaction time post-intervention, which was found following therapeutic exercise, should be considered for rehabilitation and preventing of ankle sprain injury.