Ankle Proprioception And Sport-specific Performance In Professional Youth Table Tennis Players

PURPOSE: The current study aimed to investigate the relationship between ankle proprioception and sport-specific performance in professional youth table tennis players. METHODS: 14 players competed nationally and internationally (Level 1, age= 14.29±1.75 yrs, training years=7.36±1.84yrs) and the other 14 players competed regionally (Level 2, age=11.14±1.46 yrs, training year= 4.11±0.97yrs) were recruited. All players had no lower limb injuries in the past 3 months. The dominant ankle proprioception was tested by using the active movement discrimination extent apparatus (AMEDA) under three randomized conditions: 1) single AMEDA (Single-A); 2) dual task AMEDA tested while performing forehand attack (Dual-FA), and 3) performing forehand loop (Dual-FL) to hit the topspin into a designated corner on the table, with their hitting rates (HR) recorded. The mean Area Under the ROC Curve (AUC) was calculated for ankle proprioceptive discrimination sensitivity score. 2-way repeated measures ANOVA was performed to determine the differences among the 3 AMEDA tests for players between 2 levels, and Pearson’s correlation evaluated among the measures. RESULTS: Repeated measures ANOVA showed significant main effects for task load AMEDA tests (F=46.30, p<0.01) and competition levels (F=19.95, p<0.01), with no significant interaction (p>0.05). A significant linear effect was found across the 3 task load conditions (F =64.97, p<0.01). Pearson’s correlation showed that the HR for both Dual-FA and Dual-FL were significantly correlated with all 3 AMEDA scores (r ranged from 0.38 to 0.66, all p<0.05). In addition, years of training was significantly correlated with both HR for Dual-FA (r=0.46, p=0.02) and Dual-FL(r=0.61, p<0.01), as well as the proprioceptive AUC scores of both Single-A (r=0.45, p=0.02) and Dual-FA (r=0.64, p<0.01), but was not significantly correlated with the AUC scores of Dual-FL (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: Ankle proprioception may be an essential ability underpinning sport-specific performance and was significantly impaired under the dual tasks in youth table tennis players. Testing ankle proprioceptive ability during Dual-FL may place demand on central resources not developed by training. These findings have implications for ankle injury prevention, table tennis training and talent identification.