Celebration of Scholars
#44: Does the Use of Semi-Rigid Ankle Braces Rather Than Ankle Taping Increase Patient Satisfaction After Return to Play from an Ankle Sprain in Collegiate Athletes?
Name:
Delanie Menconi
Major: Athletic Training
Hometown: Aurora, Illinois
Faculty Sponsor:
Ashley Greenwood ’14
Other Sponsors: Laurie Lenson
Type of research: Course project
Abstract
Ankle injuries, especially lateral ankle sprains, are common injuries in sports. Mistreated ankle sprains result in pain and inability to participate and can lead to physical restrictions such as ankle instability and raise the possibility of reinjury. Adverse effects like these can lower patient satisfaction scores later in recovery. Ankle taping has been standard practice in return to play criteria in the collegiate setting. Researchers question if this treatment is the best practice standard for patient satisfaction. This research question aims to evaluate the use of semi-rigid ankle braces rather than ankle taping in patient satisfaction after a return to play protocol from an ankle sprain in collegiate athletes.To research which aid may be more effective in return to play, a comprehensive literature search was conducted in PubMed and Cochrane. Keywords such as ankle sprain, return to play (RTP), tape(ing), brace(ing), semi-rigid brace, and patient satisfaction were used. Experiments, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses were included in the search. Out of over 30 articles analyzed, fifteen were included in this research, with publication dates ranging from March 2002 to December 2020.
This literature review supported that semi-rigid ankle braces increase patient satisfaction after RTP from a lateral ankle sprain in collegiate student-athletes when compared to ankle taping.
The results suggest that semi-rigid ankle braces increase patient satisfaction after RTP from a lateral ankle sprain in collegiate student-athletes. However, publishers indicated that more research is needed to strengthen the argument that semi-rigid bracing is necessary over taping is preferred in increasing patient satisfaction after a lateral ankle sprain has occurred.