Effect of plyometric training on stability of ankle and overall performance in recreational volleyball players :A Randomized Controlled Trial

Recreational sport can be considered as both leisure activities and sports. Volleyball is played both indoors and outdoors. It involves combination of several physical qualities, particularly strength, speed, agility, and flexibility, which is essential for one who plays volleyball. A volleyball player performs powerful movements during the game, such as jumping, digging, spiking, blocking, striding, and also initiates multidirectional movements. Volleyball movements exert immense force on ankles, up to ten times body weight, raising injury risks. Factors like flexibility loss and muscle weakness worsen this. Repetitive landings can lead to functional ankle instability, emphasizing the need for strength, balance, and biomechanical awareness to prevent injuries. Lower extremity injuries, which constitute 50 of 60% of volleyball injuries, are predominantly ankle-related (47.4%), with non-contact traumatic incidents at 25.4% and overuse at 4.4%. Plyometric training has shown significant benefits for players, enhancing muscle strength, flexibility, agility, and overall athletic performance. It stimulates stretch reflexes, muscle activation, and neuromuscular control, improving joint proprioception during high-impact actions like jumping and landing, thus aiding injury prevention and performance enhancement. In addition, plyometric exercise helps in enhancing agility performance, which

requires both co-ordination and balance, which increases proprioceptive feedback. For better sports performance, training will be planned along with regular activity. The training technique which is provided consists of brief periods of rest intervals along with high-intensity activity with optimum repetition.  Training involves similar movements which increases endurance capacity of players so that muscle works on

its own pace according to movement. Recent evidence suggests that dynamic stretching enhances ankle flexibility, range, and motor task performance. Plyometric training has been shown to improve balance, flexibility, and functional performance in basketball and soccer players. The Agility T Test has proven effective in enhancing overall performance in various sports. However, the Modified Dorsiflexion Lunge Test, an ankle injury risk assessment tool, has been adequately utilized in studies. This research aims to use the Modified Dorsiflexion Lunge Test with an inclinometer to enhance ankle stability and reduce injury risk in recreational volleyball players. The study investigates the impact of plyometric training on ankle stability, focusing on strength, flexibility, and functional performance to reduce ankle injuries.