The comparison of immobilization against early functional activity, with regards to grades 1 and 2 injuries to the ATFL following an inversion ankle sprain in athletes

Abstract

Ankle sprains are very common, even more so in sports as some studies show that almost half of all ankle sprains occur during athletic activity. Therefore, it is essential to identify the best rehabilitation method for the athletes to return back to their respective sports. To do so, a study was performed in order to compare immobilization against early functional activity for grade 1 and 2 injuries to the ATFL following inversion ankle sprains in athletes. A literature search was conducted using the PICO (population, intervention, comparison, and outcomes) method to identify the required literature. For this study, the population was athletes, the intervention being immobilization which was compared to early functional activity by using four outcomes, balance or ankle instability, ROM, return to sports, and pain. In order to extract the data, the nine chosen articles were closely evaluated, taking into consideration tables, graphs, and written results to obtain the required data. From the results of the chosen articles, it was found that with regards to balance or ankle instability, ROM, return to sports, and pain, early functional rehabilitation showed to bring about better results when compared to immobilization. It was indicative that functional rehabilitation in an aquatic setting brings about better results than land-based rehabilitation. It was concluded that early functional rehabilitation is superior to immobilization in athletes having a grade 1 or 2 ATFL injury after a lateral ankle sprain, with aquatic rehabilitation showing better outcomes than land-based rehabilitation. Hence, it is recommended to include early functional exercises in the rehabilitation of athletes having a grade 1 and 2 injuries to the ATFL after lateral ankle sprains, preferably using aquatic therapy.