Lower leg injuries are believed to affect balance capacity

Lower leg injuries are believed to affect balance capacity. Balance training during rehabilitation is a common approach to restore this problem. The uniaxial balance board is one of the devices used for this. It is suggested that foot orientation on the board has effect on muscle activation levels of different ankle stabilizing muscles. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of foot orientation on the different muscle activation levels during a single-legged balance protocol. 

Sixty-nine healthy subjects were tested on 4 different foot orientation position (frontal-, sagittal-. diagonal- and subtalar axes). Muscle activity of the m tibialis anterior (TA), m peroneus longus (PL), medial (MG) and lateral (LG) m gastrocnemius was measured with surface EMG. Highest muscle activation of the TA and LG were registered with the foot along the diagonal axis, for the PL along the frontal axis and for the MG with the foot along the sagittal axis. This information can be useful in determine foot orientation adapted to the specific needs of the patient.