Nearly half of all ankle sprains occur while a person is playing sports, according to data from the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.
Moreover, basketball is far and away the most dangerous sport for ankle injuries, as more than 40 percent of ankle sprains occur on the hardwood. Here’s a closer look at the data:
- 41.1 percent of sports-related ankle sprains occurred while playing basketball.
- Football accounted for 9.3 percent of ankle sprain injuries.
- Soccer and running sprains made up 7.9 percent and 7.2 percent of sports-related ankle sprains, respectively.
- 53.5 percent of ankle sprains occurred in patients between the ages of 10-24.
- Treatment of ankle sprains in the U.S. costs more than $2 billion annually.
- Ankle sprain incidents spike between ages 10-14 for women and between ages 15-19 for men.
“To our knowledge, this is the first large-scale, descriptive epidemiological study of ankle sprain in the general population of the U.S.,” said Dr. Brian Waterman. “Our hope is that with the identification of these risk factors, we can recommend further prospective studies to evaluate the cost-effectiveness and feasibility of preventative measures such as prophylactic bracing and proprioceptive training in targeted, high-risk populations.”
Outside of sports, here’s some more findings about ankle injuries:
- African Americans had the highest rate of ankle sprains, followed by Native Americans, Whites and Hispanics.
- Falling down the stairs accounted for 26.6 percent of all ankle sprains, while tripping on a ground-level surface accounts for 6.7 percent of ankle sprains.
- 47.9 percent of ankle sprains occur in or around the patient’s home. 38.5 percent occur at a rec facility, while almost 15 percent occur at school.
- Males were more likely to injure their ankles at a rec center or athletic field, while women were more likely to injure their ankles at home.
Dr. Silverman comments
It’s no surprise that athletic events account for the vast majority of ankle injuries throughout the U.S. A lot of my patients end up in my office because of an injury they suffered on the playing field.
Basketball and soccer seem to be the biggest culprit, but any activity the combines running, stopping, twisting and turning on an uneven surface is bound to cause ankle problems.
