Prospective Evaluation of Syndesmotic Ankle Sprains Without Diastasis

Sixty consecutive collegiate athletes with “high” ankle symptoms were prospectively evaluated over a 3-year period in an effort to better define this debilitating ankle injury. All athletes included in this study had tenderness over the distal anterior tibiofibular ligament, tenderness proximall...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American journal of sports medicine 2001-01, Vol.29 (1), p.31-35
Main Authors: Nussbaum, Eric D., Hosea, Timothy M., Sieler, Shawn D., Incremona, Brian R., Kessler, Donald E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Ankle
Ankle injuries
Ankle Injuries - pathology
Ankle Injuries - rehabilitation
Athletes
Athletic Injuries - pathology
Athletic Injuries - rehabilitation
Biological and medical sciences
Care and treatment
Clinical outcomes
Diseases of the osteoarticular system
Female
Humans
Injuries
Ligaments
Male
Medical sciences
Miscellaneous. Osteoarticular involvement in other diseases
Pain Measurement
Performance evaluation
Prospective Studies
Range of Motion, Articular
Recurrence
Sports injuries
Sports medicine
Sprains
Sprains and Strains - pathology
Sprains and Strains - rehabilitation
Time Factors
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Summary:Sixty consecutive collegiate athletes with “high” ankle symptoms were prospectively evaluated over a 3-year period in an effort to better define this debilitating ankle injury. All athletes included in this study had tenderness over the distal anterior tibiofibular ligament, tenderness proximally along the interosseous membrane, and functional disability. No study subject had a fracture or frank tibia-fibula diastasis. The severity of the sprain was quantified using the interosseous “tenderness length.” A standard rehabilitation protocol was followed by all patients. Athletes returned to competition when they could perform all functional testing without difficulty. Time to return to full competitive activity averaged 13.4 days. The number of days missed from competition was statistically related to the interosseous tenderness length ( P = 0.0001) and to positive results on the squeeze test ( P = 0.03). Fifty-three of the 60 injured athletes were evaluated at least 6 months after injury. Patients rated their outcomes as good or excellent. Six of the patients experienced occasional ankle pain and stiffness, four patients reported recurrent ankle sprains, and one patient had heterotopic ossification formation.
ISSN:0363-5465
1552-3365
DOI:10.1177/03635465010290011001