Introduction: Sprains have the highest incidence during lower limb injuries, most commonly occurring during sports activity. Approximately 75% of individuals experience symptoms such as pain, feeling of instability, muscle weakness, and swelling of the ankle for at least one year or more after the injury. Individuals with chronical ankle instability report pain and discomfort during sudden rapid changes of direction and stopping, they also report impaired balance. Ankle instability can result from functional and mechanical deficits or as a combination of injury deficits such as poorer proprioception, decreased neuromuscular control, changes in joint muscle strength and kinematics as well as joint degeneration due to inflammation. Despite much research, the possibility of re-injury of the ankle is high, as the causes of sprains remain unclear, making successful rehabilitation difficult to achieve. Purpose: The purpose is, based on a review of the literature, to present the muscle performance of the ankle muscles in individuals with ankle instability. Methods: The literature was searched in the PubMed database. The analysis included studies published in English and in full text, in which participated individuals with ankle instability. The research was searched with a combination of the keywords ankle instability AND muscle strenght, ankle injury AND muscle strenght. Results: After reviewing all inclusion and exclusion criteria, seven studies were included in the literature review to determine the performance of the ankle muscles in individuals with unstable ankles. In two studies, the authors found no differences between individuals with ankle instability compared to healthy ones, and in five, they found muscle weakness in individuals with instability. Discussion and conclusion: The results of the reviewed studies showed ankle muscle weakness in individuals with unstable ankle. In the future, further research would be needed with a larger sample of subjects, consisting of different age groups and both genders.
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