A randomised controlled trial to determine the effectiveness of double Tubigrip in grade 1 and 2 (mild to moderate) ankle sprains

Abstract

Objective-To compare functional outcome in patients with acute grade 1 or 2 (mild to moderate) lateral ankle sprains randomised to treatment with or without a double tubigrip bandage (DTG). Methods-400 patients presenting to the accident and emergency (A&E) departments of a teaching hospital and a district general hospital and diagnosed with grade 1 or 2 lateral ankle sprains were randomised to treatment with or without a DTG bandage. A standardised telephone questionnaire was performed one week after presentation. The main outcome measures were: number of days until walking unaided, number of days oV work, whether the injury kept the patient awake at night, whether analgesia was taken. Results-197 of 400 patients completed follow up. There were no significant diVerences in terms of age, sex and occupation between the treatment groups. There were no significant diVerences between those who did and those who did not complete follow up. There was no significant diVerence between the treatment groups for number of days until walking unaided (95% CI −0.21 to 0.88 days), number of days oV work (95% CI −0.70 to 1.02 days) or whether the injury kept the patient awake at night (95% CI −10 to 17%). There was a significant diVerence between the groups in the use of analgesia (95% CI 10 to 36%); the diVerence seemed to be that patients treated with DTG required significantly more analgesia. Conclusions-Treatment of grade 1 and 2 ankle sprins with DTG does not seem to lead to a shorter time to functional recovery and may increase the requirement for analgesia. (Emerg Med J 2001;18:46-50) Keywords: ankle sprain; compression bandage; double Tubigrip Lateral ankle sprains account for up to 3% to 5% of all accident and emergency (A&E) attendances.

Effect of accelerated rehabilitation on function after ankle sprain: randomised controlled trial

“…But both the clinical and the cost effectiveness of elastic tubigrip bandaging is questioned. 39 One systematic review found preliminary evidence that lace-up supports may be the most effective form of external support, although few definite conclusions were reached. 16 …”

Functional management of ankle sprains: what volume and intensity of walking is undertaken in the first week postinjury

“…It may be important to consider that participants were not provided with any external supports or walking aids. Previous research has questioned the cost-effectiveness of such adjunctive supports 30. Future research should determine whether the provision of crutches with or without external supports affect walking patterns.…”

The role of compression in the management of soft tissue ankle injuries: a systematic review

“…No significant difference was seen in number of days until walking unaided, number of days off work, or whether the injury kept the patient awake at night when comparing Tubigrip with no intervention in a further study [20]. One RCT compared Tubigrip with the Nottingham Ankle Support and eversion strapping on weight-bearing status, and found that only 40 % of patients treated with Tubigrip were able to weight-bear after 10 days, compared with 62 % wearing the eversion strapping and 67 % wearing the Nottingham Ankle Support [18].…”

“…In one RCT, a greater proportion of patients treated with the double Tubigrip required significantly more analgesia (double Tubigrip 77.9 % versus control 54.3 %, 95 % CI 10 to 36 %; p = 0.001) when compared to no intervention [20]. No adverse events or complications were reported in the five studies.…”