Abstract

Context: Chronic ankle instability (CAI) has shown altered movement patterns and joint loading, which increase the risk of posttraumatic ankle osteoarthritis. Abnormal vertical ground reaction force (vGRF) during running may contribute to talar cartilage degeneration; however, the acute biomechanical and cartilage responses to running in individuals with CAI remain unclear. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare running biomechanics and changes in talar cartilage thickness and T2 relaxation times before and after running between individuals with CAI and healthy controls. Methods: Twenty individuals with CAI and 20 healthy controls completed running biomechanics and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sessions. Participants ran on a force-sensing treadmill at 2.68m/s for 30 minutes. Ankle joint kinematics were captured using a 12-camera motion capture system at 250 Hz, and vGRF were recorded at 1,000 Hz. Talar cartilage thickness and T2 relaxation times were assessed using MRI at three time points: pretest, immediately post-running (post1), and 20 minutes post-running (post2). Functional ANOVA compared ankle joint kinematics and vGRF, and a 2— 3 (group x time) repeated measures ANOVA assessed cartilage responses to running. The scalar-on-function regression was used to determine relationships between vGRF and changes in (pre-post1) talar cartilage response. Results: Individuals with CAI demonstrated greater vGRF (up to 0.18N/BW) during early stance and greater dorsiflexion (up to 4°) and inversion angles (up to 3°) across the stance phase compared with healthy controls. Individuals with CAI exhibited region-specific reductions in talar cartilage thickness in the medial anterior region at post1 and 2, along with consistently greater cartilage thickness in the lateral anterior region than healthy controls. Similarly, individuals with CAI demonstrated reduced T2 relaxation times at post1 and 2 in the medial anterior and central regions, whereas healthy controls showed recovery to pretest levels. Individuals with CAI demonstrated stronger relationships between stance phase vGRF and changes in talar cartilage thickness in lateral central and medial anterior regions and T2 relaxation times in medial anterior and central regions than healthy controls. Conclusions: Individuals with CAI exhibit altered running biomechanics and impaired talar cartilage responses, indicating reduced resilience following running. These findings may contribute to early cartilage degeneration and increased risk of posttraumatic ankle osteoarthritis.

Degree

PhD

College and Department

Life Sciences; Exercise Sciences

Rights

https://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/

Date Submitted

2026-07-23

Document Type

Dissertation

Keywords

Ankle osteoarthritis, Cartilage degeneration, Joint loading, Movement patterns

Language

english

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Life Sciences Commons

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