Prognostic factors for recovery following acute lateral ankle ligament sprain: a systematic review

Table 5 Summary of number of studies reporting prognostic factors for poor outcome in acute lateral ankle sprain

No	Follow-up time points/Baseline prognostic factors explored	Number of studies reporting an association (n)
1.	At short-term follow-up (≤8 weeks)
	Age	1 [49]
	Swelling	1 [43]
	Reduced range of motion	1 [43]
	Palpation stress test scores	1 [42]
	Self-reported physical limitations	1 [44]
	Self-reported athletic ability	1 [43]
	Injury severity rating	2 [42, 49]
	Ankle function score	2 [42, 48]
	Weight bearing ability / status	3 [42, 44, 49]
2.	At medium-term (≤4 months)
	Age	1 [49]
	Non-inversion injury	1 [49]
	Pain (medial joint line) at week 4	1 [49]
	Pain (on WB DF) at week 4	1 [49]
	WB status	1 [49]
3.	At long-term (>4 months)
	Age	1 [45]
	Female gender	1 [45]
	MRI, severity grading	1 [46]
	MRI, number of ligaments	1 [46]
	MRI, bone bruise	1 [46]
	Pain (at rest) at 3 months	1 [50]
	Re-sprain within 3 months	1 [50]

Abbreviations: WB weight-bearing; DF ankle dorsiflexion; MRI magnetic resonance imaging

ISSN: 1471-2474