Differences between Football Competition Levels in Rates and Patterns of Ankle Sprains

Rates and rate ratios of ankle sprains in youth, high school, and college football, 2012-2014 seasons. *Statistically significant. LLC = lateral ligament complex.

Rates and rate ratios of ankle sprains in youth, high school, and college football, 2012-2014 seasons. *Statistically significant. LLC = lateral ligament complex.

Dan Clifton, a member of the MOVES research laboratory and a doctoral student in the Health and Rehabilitation Sciences program at The Ohio State University, recently published a study examining epidemiological patterns of ankle sprains in youth, high school and college football players. The study published in The American Journal of Sports Medicine, performed in collaboration with the Datalys Center for Sports Injury Research and Prevention, Inc. and University of Virginia, compared rates and patterns of ankle sprains between all three competition levels. Results indicate that injury rates are greater among higher competition levels and that lateral ankle sprains are the most common type of sprain at all levels of participation. Additionally, college football has the greatest proportion of ankle sprains that are severe while youth football has the greatest proportion of ankle sprains that are recurrent. Differences between competition levels highlight the need for level-specific policies and prevention strategies to help reduce the incidence of ankle sprains across age groups.

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