Postural Control in Amateur Footballers With Chronic Ankle Instability

This study will investigate static and dynamic postural control characteristics in male amateur football players with chronic ankle instability (CAI) compared with football players without ankle instability. Participants will undergo standardized biomechanical assessments using a force-platform-based postural analysis system to quantify postural sway under eyes-open and eyes-closed conditions and to evaluate direction-specific limits of stability performance. In addition to conventional between-group comparisons, objective balance and stabilization variables will be used to develop supervised machine-learning classification models. These models will examine whether athletes demonstrating CAI-like functional patterns can be identified based solely on biomechanical performance data, independent of self-reported instability questionnaires. The results are expected to enhance understanding of neuromuscular control deficits associated with chronic ankle instability and to support the development of objective, performance-based assessment approaches for football players. The aim of this study is to determine the differences in static and dynamic postural control between amateur football players with and without chronic ankle instability and to evaluate whether multidimensional biomechanical balance parameters can be used to objectively characterize CAI-related functional profiles using machine-learning-based analysis.

NCT Number	NCT07421492
Lead Sponsor	Igdir University
Conditions	Chronic Ankle Instability, CAI
Enrollment	28 participants
Start Date	2026-02-01
Primary Completion	2026-02-28 (estimated)
Study Completion	2026-03-15 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2026-02-19