Abstract
Background
Lateral ligament injuries of the ankle are common. They account for up to 50% of all sporting injuries. Recovery times vary, leading to time away from sport and training for the professional athlete. Predicting this time is important for the treating surgeon, the athlete and the rehabilitation team. This can be difficult as associated ankle injuries occurring at the time of the trauma may alter recovery and rehabilitation.
Aim
To compare the time to return to training and sports of isolated lateral ligament injuries with more complex injuries of the ankle treated surgically and to evaluate if lateral ligament repair is safe and effective in the professional athlete.
Study design: Case series; level of evidence 4
Methods
A consecutive series of professional sportsmen and women were treated operatively for radiologically and clinically confirmed grade III lateral ligament injury between 2005 and 2009. The patients were split into two groups; isolated lateral ligament injuries and those with other associated injuries. The end points studied were the time to return to training in weeks and the time to return to play in weeks.
Results
There were 26 ankles in 26 patients. 16 were isolated injuries (Group A) and 10 had associated injuries (Group B). The associated injuries included, osteochondral defects (OCD) (3), deltoid ligament injury (5), syndesmotic injury (1) and deltoid ligament injury combined with an OCD (1).
The mean time to return to training in group A was 61.3 days (range 55–110) and in group B was 99.5 days (63–152). The mean time to return to play in Group A was 78.2 days (range 63–127) and group B 116.7 days (82–178). The time to return to training and play was significantly shorter for the isolated lateral ligament injury group, (p=0.0003) and (p=0.0004) respectively. The only complications were two minor wound infections that responded to oral antibiotics. No patient returned for recurrent instability and all returned to their pre-injury level of play.
Conclusion
Lateral ligament repair was a successful and safe procedure leading to return to pre-injury level of play for all the athletes. Time to return to training and play was significantly shorter if there were no associated injuries to the ankle.
NO DISCLOSURES
