Can a simple reaching exercise strengthen ankles and cut injury risk?
NCT ID NCT07826312
First seen Sep 17, 2026 · Last updated Sep 18, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
Researchers at the University of Aveiro studied whether a 6-week home training program based on the Y-Balance Test could improve ankle function and lower limb performance in healthy university students. The Y-Balance Test asks people to stand on one leg and reach in three directions with the other leg, a common way to measure balance. Half of the 56 participants followed the training program five times a week, while the other half kept their usual routine. The team measured balance scores, ankle flexibility, ankle strength, and self-reported ankle function before and after the program. The study did not track actual injuries, so it focused on functional measures tied to injury risk.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- a home-based training program built around the Y-Balance Test, a single-leg reaching task
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a simple, low-cost home routine that helps people build balance and ankle strength, which may lower the chance of lower limb injuries.
- What could go wrong
- The study is small and short, and it does not track actual injuries, only functional measures linked to injury risk. Any improvements may fade without continued training, and results in university students may not apply to other groups.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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56 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Mar 2026
- Finished
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Jun 2026
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: Enrolled in an undergraduate degree at the School of Health Sciences, University of Aveiro. Aged 18 years or older. Able and willing to provide written informed consent. Exclusion Criteria: Current pain, injury, or medical condition that prevents the safe performance of the study assessments, based on self-report during the baseline assessment. Unable to comply with the intervention protocol or the assessment sessions. Not willing to agree to the terms of the informed consent.
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As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Escola Superior de Saúde da Universidade de Aveiro
Aveiro, Aveiro District, 3810-193, Portugal
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