1.Impact of Previous Ankle Injuries on Professional Footballers' Preseason Functional Ankle Assessment
Ahmad-Shushami AH ; A-Hamid MS ; Khair MH ; Ali MO
Malaysian Orthopaedic Journal 2023;17(No.3):73-79
Introduction: Football is the most popular sport and is
widely played around the globe, with approximately 400
million players in 208 countries. Lower extremity injuries
showed the highest incidence, with ankle injuries being the
most prevalent after hip and knee injuries. The purpose of
this study was to describe the characteristics of the players
who reported previous ankle injuries during pre-competition
medical assessment (PCMA) during the 2022 seasons of the
Malaysian professional club. In addition, the study also
investigated the effect of previous injuries on current ankle
function.
Materials and methodsː This was a retrospective crosssectional study using secondary data from the preseason
PCMA data from a professional club that competed in
Malaysia. The ankle range of motion, anterior drawer test,
and functional ankle assessments including the Biodex
athlete single leg stability test and ankle joint muscle
strength were performed during the PCMA.
Results: A total of 45 footballers reported previous history
of ankle injuries to the left (n=9), right (n=20), or both ankles
(n=16). Footballers with prior ankle injuries exhibited
significantly less ankle inversion (p = 0.008) and a larger
proportion of positive ADT tests in the injured ankle (x² (1,
N=90) =7.76, p=0.005) compared to the non-injured side.
there was no significant difference in other ankle range of
motion, ankle stability index, or ankle muscular strength
between previously injured and uninjured ankles.
Conclusionsː During preseason screening, half of the
footballers in this study reported previous history of ankle
injury, putting them at risk of having future ankle injuries.
Aside from inversion and the anterior drawer test, no
significant differences in range of motion, stability index, or
muscle strength were discovered. However, as injury
causation is multifactorial, preventive measures should be
taken to reduce the risk of injury.