Kinesiophobia Affect Postural Control Strategies During Jump Landing in Athletes With Chronic Ankle Instability: A Cross‐Sectional Study

Background and Aims: Altered postural control has been observed in chronic ankle instability (CAI). Kinesiophobia (fear of re-injury) has been identified as a factor influencing postural stability. Therefore, postural control was assessed during jump landing among CAI athletes with and without kinesiophobia, as well as healthy controls. Methods: A total of 60 participants were recruited, including 40 individuals with CAI and 20 healthy controls. The CAI group was subdivided into two cohorts: 20 subjects with kinesiophobia (Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia score > 37) and 20 without kinesiophobia. All participants performed a single-leg jump landing task on a force plate. The following postural stability metrics were calculated: time to stabilization (TTS), and the mean and standard deviation of center of pressure (COP) displacement and velocity in the anterior-posterior (AP), medial-lateral (ML), and total directions. Results: = 0.003). Conclusion: Individuals with a high fear of re-injury may perceive the jump landing task as threatening, requiring more time to land and regain stability. This fear can restrict the variability of velocity in the ML direction, resulting in decreased control over the AP direction due to limitations on managing degrees of freedom.