Making Synapses · Bringing Knowledge to Mankind
SportsAnkle sprain: return to play
Deciding when an athlete goes back to full sport after an ankle sprain is hard. The NATA asks for two kinds of measures: the athlete's own view of how the ankle works and functional performance tests, used together and never one alone.
Free to startScenarios
- Lateral ankle sprain at the end of rehabilitation.
- High ankle sprain: the athlete must push off, run, cut and move without gait limitations.
The steps
- Ask how the athlete perceives the ankle's function; a questionnaire such as the Lower Limb Task Questionnaire or the Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool (CAIT) helps.
- Start with simple tests: single-leg balance, with the eyes open or closed.
- Single-leg heel or toe raises, at 60 per minute, for the function and endurance of the lower leg muscles.
- Star Excursion Balance Test: stand on one leg and reach the other leg as far as possible in each direction; the reach is standardized to leg length.
- Single-leg hop tests, such as the hop for distance.
- Compare with the uninjured limb: at least 80 percent before sport-specific tasks.
- The athlete performs the tests without pain or loss of performance before beginning sport activity.
- An athlete with a previous ankle sprain returns with tape or a brace for all practices and games.
Safety rules that stop the station
- No single measure decides alone: each gives part of the answer.
To pass
- The athlete's perception of function asked.
- Functional tests at 80 percent or more of the uninjured limb, without pain.
- Tape or brace for an athlete with a previous sprain.
Official source
Athletic trainers · NATA position statement
National Athletic Trainers' Association Position Statement: Conservative Management and Prevention of Ankle Sprains in Athletes (J Athl Train, 2013)
The National Athletic Trainers' Association position statement on ankle sprains (Journal of Athletic Training, 2013), free on PubMed Central: recommendations 26 to 28 and its literature review.
Making Synapses is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by the NATA, the BOC, CAATE, the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute or any university. NATA, BOC and CAATE are trademarks of their respective owners and are named only to describe the content.