ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

Sec. Motor Neuroscience

Volume 19 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2025.1579260

This article is part of the Research TopicThe Human Neuroscience of Music Therapy in Neurodegenerative DiseasesView all articles

Effects of Auditory Rhythmic Adaptation on Lower Limb Joint Mechanics During Single-Leg Drop Landings in Individuals with Functional Ankle Instability

Provisionally accepted
Lingyue MengLingyue Meng1,2Yubo WangYubo Wang1Zilong WangZilong Wang1Yongan LiuYongan Liu1Yong TanYong Tan1Yue ZhangYue Zhang1Xinhui WeiXinhui Wei1Xiaokun MaoXiaokun Mao1*Qiuxia ZhangQiuxia Zhang1*
  • 1Soochow University, Suzhou, China
  • 2Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States

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Objective: This study investigates the effects of auditory rhythmic adaptation on lower limb joint mechanics in individuals with Functional Ankle Instability (FAI) during drop landings, aiming to explore potential rehabilitation strategies. Methods: Twenty male FAI individuals performed single-leg drop landings under four rhythmic conditions (no rhythm, 60bpm, 120bpm, 180bpm) after auditory rhythmic adaptation. Joint mechanics data were collected, and analyzed using two-way repeated measures ANOVA to examine the main effects and interaction effects of rhythm and limb condition. Rhythmic adaptation was assessed using time interval reproduction paradigm. Results: The ground reaction force (GRF), joint torque and joint stiffness were significantly influenced by side (p < 0.05). Hip and knee joint range of motion (RoM), lower limb and joint stiffness, joint torque were significantly affected by conditions (p < 0.05). Significant interaction effects were observed in joint stiffness and joint torque (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Rhythmic auditory adaptation modulates motor control strategies in individuals with FAI by influencing joint mechanics during drop landing. In particular, rhythmic adaptation at 120 bpm facilitates a proximal-dominant torque-redistribution strategy, characterized by higher hip and knee extension torques and increased ankle plantarflexion torque on the stable side, and increased hip extension torques on the stable side. These changes suggest the potential of 120 bpm to improve motor control and reduce injury risk.

Keywords: Functional ankle instability, Drop landing, auditory, Rhythmic adaptation, joint mechanics

Received: 20 Feb 2025; Accepted: 10 Jun 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Meng, Wang, Wang, Liu, Tan, Zhang, Wei, Mao and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence:
Xiaokun Mao, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
Qiuxia Zhang, Soochow University, Suzhou, China

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