Predicting Ankle Injury Through Clinical Functional Measures in Adolescent Athletes

The objective of this study is to determine if a clinical measure can be used effectively to predict ankle injury in high school and collegiate athletes across a variety of sports. Hypothesis: For each ankle injury category (lateral ankle sprain, medial ankle sprain, syndesmosis ankle sprain, Achilles rupture, fracture) participants that suffer these injuries will have a significantly lower SEBT normalized composite score and FMS composite score compared to those participants that do not suffer the injury Hypothesis #1b: Similar to a previous study examining high school basketball players22, using receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves, we will be able to calculate likelihood ratios, odds ratios, sensitivity and specificity and determine the ideal cut-off point of the SEBT normalized composite score and FMS composite score that will be able to predict the risk of each ankle injury category (lateral ankle sprain, medial ankle sprain, syndesmosis ankle sprain, Achilles rupture, fracture). Athletes from identified sites will perform measures of the star excursion balance test (SEBT) and the Functional Movement Screen FMS before the first day of practice. During the competition season, the number of practice and competition person exposures, as well as the number of ankle injuries, will be recorded. The rate of ankle injuries/exposure will be calculated and compared with the pre-season SEBT scores to create a simple and a complex prediction model for risk of ankle injury