Mechanical instability after an acute lateral ankle sprain.

Area of Science:

• Biomechanics
• Sports Medicine
• Orthopedics

Background:

• Ankle sprains are common injuries, often leading to residual mechanical laxity.
• Understanding the natural recovery timeline of ankle laxity is crucial for effective rehabilitation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the natural progression of mechanical laxity in individuals following an acute lateral ankle sprain over an 8-week period.
• To compare the mechanical laxity of injured ankles to healthy controls.

Main Methods:

• A prospective cohort study involving 16 participants with acute lateral ankle sprains and 16 healthy controls.
• An instrumented arthrometer was used to measure anterior-posterior displacement and inversion-eversion rotation at 3 days and 8 weeks post-injury.
• Repeated-measures multivariate analysis of variance was employed to analyze the data.

Main Results:

• Significantly greater anterior displacement and inversion rotation were observed in the injured group compared to the healthy group at both 3 days and 8 weeks post-injury.
• A significant interaction between group, time, and side was noted for anterior translation.
• These findings indicate a lack of significant natural recovery in mechanical laxity within the 8-week study period.

Conclusions:

• Natural recovery of mechanical laxity after an ankle sprain extends beyond 8 weeks.
• Further investigation is required to determine the full duration of persistent laxity.
• The role of ankle rehabilitation in restoring mechanical stability warrants further research.