eMedicine Specialties > Orthopedic Surgery > Foot & Ankle

Acute Ankle Sprains: Follow-up

Author: Ray Foster, MD, FACS, Medical Staff Physician, Black Hills Health and Education Center
Contributor Information and Disclosures

Updated: Apr 30, 2009

Outcome and Prognosis

The prognosis for isolated and adequately treated ankle sprains is excellent. The prognosis for a patient with ankle sprains and other traumatic injuries is related to the prognosis for the other injuries.

Future and Controversies

Dreams of a future instant cure for ankle sprains and controversies about the best method of achieving the fastest and most pain-free cure are always present.

Controversies exist about the best management for ankle sprains. No objective evidence indicates which symptomatic complaints are most likely best addressed nonmechanically. Surgery is almost always a poor treatment choice for a nonmechanical problem.

Many new surgical techniques are being used and discussed for the management of chronic ankle sprains (ie, chronic ankle instability). Arthroscopic techniques have obvious advantages and have stood the test of time for knee and shoulder joints. Arthroscopy is being used more often for the ankle joint, with perhaps less advantage than that seen in the knee or shoulder, proportional to less covering and tighter tolerances in the ankle.

 


More on Acute Ankle Sprains

Overview: Acute Ankle Sprains
Workup: Acute Ankle Sprains
Treatment: Acute Ankle Sprains
Follow-up: Acute Ankle Sprains
Multimedia: Acute Ankle Sprains
References
Further Reading
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References

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Keywords

acute ankle sprain, turned ankle, stretched ankle, deltoid ligament sprain, anterior talofibular sprain, talofibular sprain, medial or lateral ankle sprains, distal talofibular syndesmotic sprain, high ankle sprain, inversion sprain, chronic ankle sprain, chronic ankle laxity, double ligament lateral ankle sprain, ankle pain, twisted ankle

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Contributor Information and Disclosures

Author

Ray Foster, MD, FACS, Medical Staff Physician, Black Hills Health and Education Center
Ray Foster, MD, FACS is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Medical Editor

James K DeOrio, MD, Director of Foot and Ankle Fellowship Program, Assistant Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, Orthopedic Surgery, St Lukes Hospital, Jacksonville, Florida
James K DeOrio, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society, Florida Medical Association, and German Society of Neurology
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Pharmacy Editor

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD, Senior Pharmacy Editor, eMedicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Managing Editor

Shepard R Hurwitz, MD, Executive Director, American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery
Shepard R Hurwitz, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American Association for the Advancement of Science, American College of Rheumatology, American College of Sports Medicine, American College of Surgeons, American Diabetes Association, American Orthopaedic Association, American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine, Eastern Orthopaedic Association, Orthopaedic Research Society, Orthopaedic Trauma Association, and Southern Orthopaedic Association
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

CME Editor

Dinesh Patel, MD, FACS, Associate Clinical Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, Harvard Medical School; Chief of Arthroscopic Surgery, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital
Dinesh Patel, MD, FACS is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, American College of International Physicians, and American College of Surgeons
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Jason H Calhoun, MD, FAAOS, Chairman, J Vernon Luck Distinguished Professor, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Missouri
Jason H Calhoun, MD, FAAOS is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American College of Surgeons, and American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

 
 
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