The Role of Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES) on Improving Function in Individuals With Chronic Ankle Instability

Individuals with joint injuries, including ankle sprain and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury have been observed to exhibit changes in central nervous system function that potentially predispose them for further injury (Needle et al. 2017). In ankle sprains, repeated sensations of rolling and giving-way known as chronic ankle instability (CAI) emerges in nearly 50 percent of those with a history of ankle sprain (Holland et al. 2019), with symptoms tied to changes in central nervous system function. As the understanding of these pathologies have expanded, researchers have begun to attempt to identify neuromodulatory interventions capable of addressing injury-induced maladaptive neuroplasticity, thus improving function (Bruce et al. 2020, In Press).

Among those with ACL injury, one of the most common interventions implemented to overcome muscle activation deficits includes neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) (Lepley et al. 2015). This intervention is often used in the initial stages of post-surgical recovery to improve quadriceps function; however, it's use in other populations of joint injury (i.e. ankle sprain) is far more limited. Some previous research has looked at the effects of NMES on acute ankle sprains, as this is the timeframe in which muscle activation deficits would be most evident (Wainwright et al. 2019), but there is very limited evidence in those with CAI. It was potentially thought that activation deficits are less evident and strengthening may overcome these deficits in those with chronic injury; however, new insights have identified additional mechanisms by which NMES may be effective (Lepley et al. 2015). Aside from generating activation of a generally inactive muscle, NMES when performed at high intensities has been described to improve neuromuscular function through disinhibitory mechanisms. That is that increased somatosensation from the electrical stimulation raises the central nervous sytem's awareness of that muscle's activation, yielding decreased inhibition and ultimately increased neural excitability.

Our previous research using cortically-directed interventions demonstrated that improving neural excitability yielded better function in patients with chronic ankle instability (Bruce et al. 2020). This study will follow a similar framework; however, determining if these changes can be induced via a peripheral intervention. These findings have the ability to reframe the current treatment for CAI.

We are pursuing the following 2 specific aims:

1. To determine if NMES changes neural excitability (MEP size, H:M ratio, silent period) compared to a placebo treatment in participants with chronic ankle instability.