Effect of Manual Therapy and Conventional Physiotherapy on pain, movement, and function following Acute and Sub-acute Lateral Ankle sprain: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Abstract

Background: Lateral Ankle Sprain (LAS) is the most common musculoskeletal injury among highly active and non-active populations. Physiotherapy plays a significant role in reducing pain and improving range of motion (ROM) and functional outcomes in people with LAS. Aims and Objectives: The study's main objective is to compare the effects of manual therapy (Mulligan's MWM) and conventional physiotherapy (PRICE and therapeutic exercises) and conventional physiotherapy alone on pain, ankle ROM, and function in subjects with LAS. Study Design: A randomized clinical trial was used, and 40 patients diagnosed with acute and sub-acute grade I or II LAS were randomly allotted to two experimental groups. Setting: The patients who met the selection criteria were recruited from the Team Physio Clinic, Pudukkottai, Tamilnadu, from January 2020 to June 2021. Materials and Methods: The experimental group I (n=20) received Mulligan's MWM and conventional physiotherapy, whereas those assigned to the experimental group II (n=20) received conventional physiotherapy alone. The treatment duration for both groups was four weeks. Outcome measures such as pain intensity, ankle dorsiflexion ROM, and foot and ankle disability index (FADI) were used. Statistics: The Shapiro-Wilk test was applied to examine whether the data had a normal distribution. A paired 'ttest' was used to compare the pre-and post-intervention mean scores within a group. Further, an unpaired 't-test' was used to compare the mean scores of both experimental groups at pre-and post-intervention stages. The data analysis was carried out using SPSS at a 5% level of significance. Results: Both experimental groups significantly reduced pain and improved ankle dorsiflexion ROM and function following the treatment duration. There is a significant difference between the two experimental groups in reducing pain and improving ankle dorsiflexion ROM and function at the postintervention stage. Conclusion: MWM with conventional physiotherapy is significantly more effective than conventional physiotherapy alone in reducing pain and improving ankle dorsiflexion ROM and function in acute and subacute grade I or II LAS.