Youth sports are a wonderful way to get kids active and to help them meet new friends, but they are also a source of millions of injuries every year. One of the most common injuries in youth sports is an ankle sprain, and it’s also one of the most common youth athletic injuries that we see in our office. And while ankle sprains rarely end a teen’s athletic career, there may be more long-term consequences to the injury than meets the eye. In today’s blog, we take a closer look at the long-term consequences of ankle sprains in youth sports.
Youth Ankle Sprain Consequences
A recent study published in Foot & Ankle International found that people who suffered an ankle sprain while playing youth sports had more ankle pain 3-15 years later compared to uninjured participants. But that’s not all. According to the study, participants with youth ankle sprains also were more likely to experiencing the following compared to uninjured participants:
- Poorer ankle function
- Reduced sport participation
- Poorer balance
- A greater fear of pain
“Ankle sprain is the most common injury in youth sport and recreation,” said Oluwatoyosi Owoeye, assistant professor at the Department of Physical Therapy and Athletic Training at Saint Louis University, as well as adjunct assistant professor at the Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre at the University of Calgary, and senior author of the study. “An ankle sprain is often perceived as a ‘simple’ injury that should not raise any concerns, but our study shows it may result in mid- and long-term negative health consequences.”
For the study, researchers recruited 86 participants with an average age of 23. Of the group, 50 had sprained their ankle within a median of eight years, while the other 36 were uninjured. The research team collected their data based on self-reported Foot and Ankle Outcome Scores, BMI measurements, and simple tests to assess physical activity and other functions like strength and balance, athletic participation, and fear of pain.
At 3-15 years following the ankle sprain, injured participants had significantly worse symptoms by about 21 percent and poorer ankle-related quality of life by about 16 percent when compared to a control population.
So what can we do about these findings? Prevention is obviously preferred to treatment, but you can’t prevent every single ankle sprain. Still, you can do what you can to strengthen your ankles and feet, and you can wear the right cleats and braces to help support your feet and reduce your risk of a severe ankle sprain. If a sprain does occur, it’s imperative that you do everything in your power to ensure your ankle comes back as strong if not stronger after the injury. Rest the area, participate in physical therapy and connect with a foot specialist like Dr. Silverman to ensure your ligaments regain as much strength as possible so that you’re not at risk for a subsequent sprain or lingering pain.