Factors Affecting Recurrent Lateral Ankle Sprain in Athletes

Abstract

Background: Lateral ankle sprains are one of the most common sports injuries that an athlete may endure
during their career. If not treated correctly, it often leads to recurrent twisting of the ankle joint, causing
disruption of the ligaments in the ankle joint. Various anthropometric factors such as height, weight, BMI, as
well as previous ankle sprain history are assessed as potential predictors of recurrent lateral ankle sprain. The
potential factors are correlated with the Foot and Ankle Ability Measure- Sports Sub Scale to assess their
contribution to a recurrent lateral ankle sprain in athletes. The FAAM Sport subscale is used to determine
the functioning of the ankle joint, as recorded by the subjects themselves.
Methodology: The questionnaire is sent to the candidates who fall under the inclusion criteria, and they are
asked to fill the questionnaire. The participants were between the age of 18-30 years. Both male, as well as
female athletes were included in the study. Each athlete must have played at least 3 competitive sports in the
last 1 year, and they must have a history of at least 1 lateral ankle sprain. The collected data is then compiled
and analyzed.
Result: After the analysis of the data, previous ankle sprain history depicted maximum correlation with
the FAAM- Sport Subscale, as well as an inverse relationship, with a reading of -2.89, and significance of
0.27. Height depicted an inverse relationship as well, with -.119 when compared to FAAM Sport Sub-scale.
Weight also shows an inverse relationship (-0.053) when correlated with the FAAM Sport sub-scale. BMI
does not show any correlation with the FAAM Sport Subscale (+0.002).
Conclusion: Previous ankle sprain history, height and weight depict an inverse relationship with the FAAM
Sport Subscale, indicating that, as their score increases, the functioning of the ankle joint decreases, and
hence becoming a potential factor for recurrent ankle sprains. BMI however, does not depict any correlation
with the FAAM sport sub-scale.