Abstract
A prominent feature of ankle sprains is their variable clinical course. The difficulty of providing a reliable early prognosis may be responsible for the substantial rate of poor outcomes after an ankle sprain. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prognostic value of objective clinical measures, pain, and functional scores for ankle sprain recovery. Fifty-two participants suffering from lateral ankle sprain were included. Sprain status was assessed four weeks following injury and included evaluations of ankle range of motion, strength, function, and pain. Seven months following injury, a second assessment classified the patients into recovered and non-recovered groups using ankle ability measures. Following a predictor pre-selection procedure, logistic regressions evaluated the association between the four-week predictors and the seven-month recovery status. Twenty-seven participants (52%) fully recovered and 25 did not (48%). The results of the logistic regressions showed that walking pain was negatively associated with the probability of recovering at seven months (odds ratio: 0.71, 95% CI: 0.53–0.95). Pain four weeks after ankle sprain had relevant predictive value for long-term recovery. Special attention should be paid to patients reporting persistent pain while walking four weeks following sprain to reduce the risk of chronicity.
Highlights
This review reported that 5% to 33% of ankle injury patients still experienced pain after one year; in addition, as many as 33% of the patients reported at least one re-sprain within a three-year period, relating to the development of chronic ankle instability (CAI) [14]
Among the 90 patients that participated in this RCT, 52 completed the seven-month follow up
We observed that recovery status was independent of sprain severity
Summary
In the United States (US), ankle sprains occur with an incidence rate of 2.15 to 3.29 per 1000 person each year among the general population [3,4]. Among exposed individuals, such as US military cadets, the incidence reaches as high as 58.4 per 1000 person each year [3]. Ankle sprains represent 15% of all sportrelated injuries [5]. Dance is a problematic activity, with 42% to 97% of dancers injured yearly and ankle sprain prevalence ranging from 14% to 54% [7]. In 2010, one million individuals were treated in US emergency departments for ankle sprain, at a median cost of 1029 USD per case, accounting for significant health care charges [4]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
