An epidemiological survey on ankle sprain.

Abstract

Ankle sprain is a common sports injury and is often regarded as trivial by athletes and coaches. This epidemiological study was conducted among three categories of Hong Kong Chinese athletes: national teams, competitive athletes and recreational athletes. This study shows that as much as 73% of all athletes had recurrent ankle sprain and 59% of these athletes had significant disability and residual symptoms which led to impairment of their athletic performance. This study indicates that a proper approach towards injury prevention and a comprehensive rehabilitation programme are required. Keywords: Ankle sprain, residual disability, prevention, rehabilitation Ankle sprain occurs frequently in the sports population. It is caused by the stretching of fibres or of the collagen of the ankle ligaments, whereby the fibres are partially or completely disrupted'-. Since most sports activities involve running, jumping and turning, high stresses are often put on the joints of the lower limbs, including the ankle. Hansen et al4 reported that 67.3% of their football players had sprained their ankles during sports. Smith and ReischF5, reported that 70% of their basketball players had a history of ankle sprain and 80% of them had multiple sprains. Chronic ankle problems such as chronic pain, muscular weaknesses and ease of giving way were not uncommon for those athletes [3][4][5][6][7] with a history of ankle sprain Various studies on sports injuries have revealed the high occurrence and high recurrence rate of ankle sprain7-10; however, studies on the consequences of ankle injuries and their effects on the level of athletic performance are rare. This study aims to identify the prevalence of recurrent ankle sprain and its related residual symptoms among Hong Kong sportsmen. MethodQuestionnaires were sent to athletes having a history of ankle sprain. The questionnaire consisted of three parts: (1) demographic data such as age, sex, and the dominant leg; (2) sports related data; (3) ankle sprain and its related effects. Only athletes involved in sports activities on a regular basis were chosen for study. They might be competitive athletes, athletes training regularly, or recreational athletes. All must have sprained their ankle(s) at least once, with detectable swelling and pain around the injured ankle(s). Since this study focused on chronic residual ankle problems, athletes with acute ankle sprain within a 3-month period were excluded from this survey. The questionnaires were distributed to athletes on site -in the sportsfield or on court -and were collected immediately after being filled in, with the result that the return rate was 100%. In total, 400 questionnaires were distributed and collected of which 20 were incomplete, leaving 380 completed questionnaires for data analysis. The X test was used to test the statistical significance among groups of different attributes. ResultsAthletes' demographic data Data from 380 athletes were available for analysis. Of these 380 athletes, 271 were males and 109 were females. Their mea...

Sport-related ankle injuries attending an accident and emergency department

“…The attendance rate to A&E for sport-related ankle injuries, ligamentous sprains and fractures were 0.24, 0.19 and 0.02/1000 person-year, which were also less than those recorded by two previous studies at the A&E department -7 in Denmark 15 , and 5.27 in UK 2 . In Hong Kong, a previous study 28 investigating ankle ligamentous sprains on competitive and recreational athletes reported that most sprains were sustained in running and jogging (25%). Another study also showed that lower extremity injuries at the ankle and foot are the major medical problem in running 8 .…”

“…A study in UK 2 reported the attendance rate to A&E units for patients with ankle ligamentous sprain to be 5.27/1000 person year. Among sports, a survey in Hong Kong reported that most ankle sprains were sustained while pursuing running and jogging activities (25%), racquet sports (20%) and ball games (19%) 28 .…”

“…In Hong Kong, previous sports injury epidemiology studies were conducted on university students 6 , competitive and recreational athletes 28 , paediatrics 18 , sports injury clinic attendants 7 and A&E department attendants 5 more than 10 years ago. This study aimed to collect current epidemiology data on sport-related ankle injuries attending an A&E department.…”

Ankle proprioception is not targeted by exercises on an unstable surface

“…Recurrence rates for LASs are high and have been reported to be over 70% (Yeung et al 1994). The reason for the high recurrence rate is believed to be a reduced accuracy of proprioceptive signals from the ankle which leads to a functional instability (Hertel 2000).…”

Orthopaedic sport biomechanics – a new paradigm

“…The attendance rate at a casualty ward was reported to be 7 per 1000 person-years (Holmer et al, 1994). In Hong Kong, a survey on athletes of all levels (national, competitive and recreational) reported that most ankle sprains are sustained in running and jogging (25%), racquet sports (20%) and ball games (19%) (Yeung et al, 1994). However, a recent analysis on medical records (Fong et al, 2006a) from an accident and emergency department reported that most sport-related ankle injuries are sustained from basketball, soccer and hikingThis implied that epidemiology studies should be conducted in different settings to obtain a better overview.…”