Improvement of Functional Ankle Properties Following Supplementation with Specific Collagen Peptides in Athletes with Chronic Ankle Instability

Dressler P, Gehring D, Zdzieblik D, Oesser S, Gollhofer A, König D · Journal of Sports Science & Medicine

The longest randomized collagen exposure with a ligament endpoint. Subjective ankle stability improved against placebo on both the Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool and the German Foot and Ankle Ability Measure (both p<0.001), and re-injuries were fewer during the follow-up period. Mechanical stability measured by ankle arthrometer did not differ between the groups at all — the perceived improvement was not accompanied by a measurable change in ligament laxity.

Population

Male and female athletes with chronic ankle instability after a previous sprain

Intervention

5 g specific collagen peptides daily for 6 months, with a 3-month follow-up

Comparator

5 g maltodextrin placebo

Limitations

The instrumented outcome was null while the questionnaire outcomes were positive, which is the pattern most vulnerable to expectation effects even under blinding. Twenty-five per arm. Injury counts in the follow-up are a secondary endpoint on small numbers. Co-author Oesser is at the Collagen Research Institute; the Freiburg group produced most of the positive collagen trials in this corpus.