Clinical Research Directory

Inclusion Criteria: * Male football players aged between 18 and 35 years (Herzog et al., 2019; Jiang et al., 2022). * A documented history of lateral ankle sprain (LAS) for at least 12 months before the study, with the initial injury resulting in a minimum of one day of weight-bearing restriction. * Self-reported episodes of ankle "giving way" occurring at least twice within the 6-12 months preceding enrollment. * The most recent injury must have occurred more than 3 months before study enrollment. * A perceived sense of the injured ankle being chronically weaker and/or less functional than the contralateral side before the first LAS episode. * A Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool (CAIT) score of less than 24 indicates chronic ankle instability. * For group B: participants with no previous history of ankle sprain. Exclusion Criteria: * Bilateral LAS (Tahoon et al., 2022). * Previous injury, fracture, or surgical intervention involving the spine, pelvis, or lower extremity. * History of low back pain requiring medical or surgical intervention. * Engagement in supervised or unsupervised ankle rehabilitation within one month before the study. * Any LAS occurring within three months before participation. * Leg length discrepancy exceeding 0.5 cm.