Ankle ligament injuries.

Injuries to the ligaments of the ankle are often called "low ankle sprains". If the tibiofibular ligament or the syndesmosis is injured it is called a "high ankle sprain". Inversion sprains with injury to the lateral ligaments of the ankle/foot complex are by far the most common. They occur with an estimated frequency of one injury per 10 000 people per day, amounting to about 27 000 injuries each day in the United States.' 2 Although many injuries are treated outside medical establishments, 7-10% of those who are visiting the emergency departments of the hospitals in Scandinavia have sprained ankles.3 Ankle injuries are the most common injuries in sports and recreational activity.i"12 For this reason, probably, these injuries tend to occur primarily to young people.'3 The sprained ankle also remains the most common injury regardless of whether the sport is primarily an upper or a lower extremity sport. Garrick7 noted that injuries to the ankle accounted for 53% of injuries occurring during basketball and for 31% of those occurring during soccer. Reviewing 41 soccer teams, Ekstrand and Tropp'4 found ankle sprains to account for 17 to 21% ofthe injuries. The "high ankle sprain" usually occurs as the result of an eversion injury in combination with fractures or lesions to the deltoid ligament. Isolated syndesmosis injuries occur in 3% of the cases. This article will deal mainly with the lateral ligament complex.