Lateral ankle sprains (LAS) are common in sports, often leading to lingering long-term issues, such as chronic ankle instability. The Re-injury rates can be as high as 70% in high-risk athletes and sports.
The Ankle-GO testing combines patient-reported measures and functional tests to guide athletes back to the field with confidence.
Key Takeaways :
- Lateral ankle sprains are extremely common in sports, with staggering rates of re-injury and nearly 40% going on to develop chronic instability.
- Ankle-GO steps is a comprehensive tool, predicting return-to-sport (RTS) outcomes and aiding in decision-making for athletes recovering from Lateral ankle sprain, focusing on pain severity, impairments, and functional performance.
Study Insights:
- Testing and Measures: Ankle-GO includes four functional tests and three patient-reported outcome measures
- Functional tests: include single leg stance variations, modified star excursion balance test (Y balance ), single leg hop test, figure 8 test.
- Patient reported outcome measures: Foot and ankle ability measure (FAAS), sport, ankle ligament reconstruction return to sport index (ALR-RSI)
Clinical Implications: Ankle-GO provides a roadmap for return to sport for athletes battling lateral ankle sprains. Its simplicity, reliability, and prognostic power make it a valuable addition to sports rehabilitation, especially for more severe sprains.
