Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Nov 5;16(11):e73065.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.73065. eCollection 2024 Nov.

Ankle Sprain Recurrence and Rehabilitation Among Athletes: A Case Study in the West Region of Cameroon

Hyacinte Trésor Ghassi  1 , Dilane Landry Nsangou Muntessu  2 , Franklin Chu Buh  2 , Ruslaine Tatuegan Womsi  3 , David Leonel Noumoé  2 , Cobelle Benissa Makougan Chendjou  4 , Florian Forelli  5 , Maurice Douryang  2
Affiliations

Ankle Sprain Recurrence and Rehabilitation Among Athletes: A Case Study in the West Region of Cameroon

Hyacinte Trésor Ghassi et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence, risk factors, and impact of physiotherapy on ankle sprain recurrence among professional and amateur athletes in the West region of Cameroon.

Methods: Cross-sectional study from February to July 2024 in the West region of Cameroon sports clubs. Professional and amateur athletes practice their sport at least three times a week. The main outcomes are reported as the prevalence of the first ankle sprain, the prevalence of recurrence, and the factors associated with recurrence (bivariate analysis, significance set at P<0.05; 95% CI).

Results: Among the 215 participants, the prevalence of first ankle sprain was 72.6% (156). Of these 156 athletes, only 70 received physiotherapy (44.9%) and only 56 athletes had functional recovery before restarting sport (35.9%). The main barrier to physiotherapy intervention was the lack of knowledge. The prevalence of recurrence was 61.5% (96/156), with significant associations found between recurrence and professional athlete status (aOR: 2.48; CI: 1.09-4.29; P<0.001) and hand-on-ball sports participation (aOR: 4.72; CI: 1.08-29.62; p=0.04). Conversely, physiotherapy intervention (aOR: 0.65; CI: 0.26-0. 98; p=0.01), functional recovery before return to play (aOR: 0.41; CI: 0.05-0.84; p<0.001), and moderate sports frequency (aOR: 0.81; CI: 0.28-0.91; p=0.03) demonstrated protective effects against recurrence.

Conclusion: Education and awareness campaigns are necessary to promote physiotherapy intervention and reduce the burden of ankle sprain recurrence among athletes in Cameroon and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Keywords: ankle sprain recurrence; athletes; cameroon; rehabilitation; sports physiotherapy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Human subjects: Consent for treatment and open access publication was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Cameroon West Regional Ethics Committee issued approval No:636/26/06/2024/CE/CRERSH-OU/VP. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.

References

    1. Evidence review for the 2016 International Ankle Consortium consensus statement on the prevalence, impact and long-term consequences of lateral ankle sprains. Gribble PA, Bleakley CM, Caulfield BM, et al. Br J Sports Med. 2016;50:1496–1505. - PubMed
    1. The incidence and prevalence of ankle sprain injury: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective epidemiological studies. Doherty C, Delahunt E, Caulfield B, Hertel J, Ryan J, Bleakley C. Sports Med. 2014;44:123–140. - PubMed
    1. A systematic review on ankle injury and ankle sprain in sports. Fong DT, Hong Y, Chan LK, Yung PS, Chan KM. Sports Med. 2007;37:73–94. - PubMed
    1. Dispositifs de Compression/Contention médicale à usage individuel - Utilisation en Orthopédie/Rhumatologie/Traumatologie. [ Jul; 2024 ]. 2024. https://www.has-sante.fr/jcms/c_1318289/fr/dispositifs-de-compression/co... https://www.has-sante.fr/jcms/c_1318289/fr/dispositifs-de-compression/co...
    1. An epidemiological survey on ankle sprain. Yeung MS, Chan KM, So CH, Yuan WY. Br J Sports Med. 1994;28:112–116. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources