Clinical movement assessments do not differ between collegiate athletes with and without chronic ankle instability

Objectives: To determine if overall Landing Error Scoring System-17 (LESS-17) and Fusionetics scores differ between collegiate athletes with and without chronic ankle instability (CAI). We also aimed to determine if the rate of specific movement errors during the LESS-17 and Fusionetics differed between the groups. Design: Case-Control. Setting: Clinical Sports Medicine Facility. Participants: Ninety-nine athletes from six Division I NCAA sports were eligible for the investigation. Forty-nine of those participants were classified as having CAI and fifty were classified as uninjured controls. Main outcome measures: An overall Lower Extremity Fusionetics score and individual task scores were calculated based on movement errors made during a double limb, double-limb with heel lift, and single limb squat. A LESS-17 score was calculated based on movement errors made during a 30 cm drop jump. Results: No differences were found between groups for the LESS-17 (p = 0.51), overall Lower Extremity Fusionetics (p = 0.49), and individual Fusionetics tasks (p > 0.36). More individuals with CAI made an uncontrolled trunk movement during a single-limb squat than uninjured controls (p < 0.01). Conclusions: Overall movement quality, as assessed by the LESS-17 and Fusionetics, did not differ between collegiate athletes with and without CAI. The rate of making specific movement errors also did not differ between groups.