Return to play in athletes following ankle injuries

Background: The decision to return to play following an ankle injury is a multifactorial process involving both physical and psychological parameters. The current body of literature lacks evidence-based guidelines to assist in the decision.

Objective: THIS ARTICLE REVIEWS THE EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT SUCH TESTING: the dorsiflexion lunge test, star excursion balance test, agility T-test, and sargent/vertical jump test. The importance of psychological factors is also highlighted.

Evidence acquisition: The primary literature search was conducted using PubMed (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/) with the search terms "ankle AND injury" and the following limits activated: English language. A secondary search was then conducted with the search terms "return to play" and "sport injuries and return to play."

Results: Various functional tests have been used to determine whether a patient is able to return to play following an ankle injury. This study documented four tests that have been used to assess range of motion, balance and proprioception, agility and strength and the reasoning as to why these tests are used.

Conclusions: Functional testing provides objective measures for gauging an athlete's progression through the rehabilitation process. Testing balance and proprioception, strength, range of motion, and agility coupled with psychological assessment evaluates readiness for return to play.