Evaluation of the Efficacy, Feasibility and Flexibility of a New Rehab-Protocol as a Fundamental Part of Conservative Treatments for Ankle Traumas

Abstract

Introduction: Ankle traumatic injuries represent a predisposing condition for functional deficits, such as stiffness, residual pain and abnormal functionality, which may reduce return of patients to the activity-levels before the trauma. Several types of treatment have been proposed, and lots of studies and reviews of the last years have emphasized the importance of proper rehabilitation and re-educational programs in order to permit a safe and complete recovery. Objective: The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy and feasibility of an original program of “Functional” physiotherapy and active exercises after an acute treatment for the most common ankle injuries Materials and Methods: Our study was conducted on 40 patients who reported two different types of trauma: both lateral ankle sprain, 2nd and 3rd degree of injury, or not displaced ankle fracture. All the patients attended at the same “Functional” rehab- protocol. AOFAS score and TEGNER scale submitted to patients in order to assess the clinical conditions at time zero (T0) and current ones at time t (T1), after 4 months (15-18 weeks). Results: In the group of patients with sprain, AOFAS at T0 reported an average score of 41,70. After the treatment (T1), the score of AOFAS for this group was 93,86. In the other group, results of AOFAS at T0 have shown an average score of 41,76. After the treatment (T1) value of score was 89,6. Regarding Tegner Activity Scale, we observed that all patients who have reported ankle sprain have returned to the same level of activity they held before the trauma. No recurrences of the pathology happened. Conclusions: Our “functional” rehab-protocol, despite the limits of the study, has been proven to be flexible and efficient. Finally, results of the studies show how the protocol could be feasible in different types of ankle pathologies.