Effects of extensive training on female teenage gymnasts' active and passive ankle-joint position sense

Objective: To compare the ankle-joint position-sense patterns of gymnasts and nongymnasts. Design: Proprioceptive ability was evaluated with active and passive angle-reproduction tests. Participants: 40 subjects assigned to 2 groups: group 1 (n = 20), healthy subjects, and group 2 (n = 20), teenage female gymnasts. Measurements: Joint-position sense was actively measured with a Cybex NORM(TM) isokinetic dynamometer and passively with a proprioception-testing device. Results: A Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the mean values of the gymnasts' and controls' ankles. Results revealed statistically significant differences (P <.05) between the 2 groups. No statistically significant difference between the dominant and nondominant ankles in the 2 groups was observed. Conclusions: The results suggest that extensive training might affect ankle-joint position sense, but genetics and natural selection could be the reason. It is thought that athletes are able to develop enhanced neurosensory pathways as a result of long-term training.