Exercise therapy for rehabilitation after lateral ankle sprain

Introduction: Lateral ankle sprain (LAS) is a frequently incurred musculoskeletal injury, especially in individuals playing sports. Exercise therapy is the primary intervention to treat acute LAS. In this report, we describe a case of LAS in a runner and the exercise therapy used for rehabilitation. Case report: A 39-year-old male runner visited the Indonesia Sports Medicine Centre, Jakarta, Indonesia, with complaints of pain in his left ankle. The symptoms were initiated six days earlier, after joining the nature run of Bromo-Tengger-Semeru and experiencing an accident (i.e., fall in an unseen sand hole with the inward position of the ankle). The patient presented with a limp walk and swollen ankle. Despite improvement, the pain persisted for six days after the accident. The patient had a history of LAS one month prior to the consultation, but did not complete the rehabilitation program. Clinical examination revealed normal vital signs. The left ankle was swollen with a figure-of-eight measurement of 50 cm (right ankle: 48 cm), and a limited range of motion inversion of 5° (right ankle: 10°). The pain rating was 3 on the visual analog scale due to pain at the inferior posterior part of the malleolus lateralis. The patient underwent exercise therapy for rehabilitation after LAS, involving cardiorespiratory, flexibility, strengthening, and proprioceptive exercises. After one week, there was significant improvement, as shown by the decreased pain rating (i.e., 0), figure-of-eight measurement (i.e., 48 cm), and increased range of motion (i.e., inversion 10°). Conclusion: The exercise therapy improved rehabilitation after LAS. This program should be performed until completion to reduce injury recurrence.