The purpose of this case report is to describe the necessary assessment tools and rehabilitation interventions in order to determine the effectiveness of conservative management for individuals with CAI. The patient is a thirteen-year-old female club soccer player who has sustained recurrent ankle injuries over the past year. Common impairments following an ankle injury include decreased strength, impaired dynamic balance, limited range of motion and instability.11 These impairments have limited the patient’s ability to participate in sport, resulting in a decrease in her overall functional mobility with dynamic activities. Through physical therapy services, the patient’s impairments can be properly addressed as research has shown improvements
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The patient was also provided a home exercise program (HEP) to maintain her gains through physical therapy services. Throughout treatment, the rehabilitation program was updated accordingly based on the impairments that remained each week, and progressions were given for the interventions that required more difficulty. To begin the rehabilitation program, interventions started on a simpler scale, targeting a single direction in order to gain more stability before incorporating multidirectional tasks. The patient’s ankle stability had improved with one intervention, however, was limited in functional stability that required more dynamic control. Plyometric training was incorporated to improve dynamic ankle control and trunk control during sport specific activities. According to Kewwan et al., plyometric training is an effective way to improve ankle stability, functional ability and prevent re-injury.12 For individuals who have CAI, plyometric training that is implemented within a six-week rehabilitation program has helped improve landing strategies, dynamic postural control and increased single leg balance, as researched by Huang et al.18 In addition to plyometric training, balance rehabilitation programs performed on unstable surfaces were proven to increase the patient’s ankle …show more content…
Upon discharge, the patient presented with improved stability when performing simple, static one-directional tasks, but demonstrated an instability with dynamic tasks. Functionally, the patient is able to perform all activities of daily living, but when performing dynamic exercises that require maximum stability, it still remains to be a challenge. Plyometric training might be beneficial for the patient to continue within her daily regime for full return to sport. The patient demonstrated minimal improvement in core stability with a ten-second increase, indicating the need for continued core stability exercises. As researched by Araujo et al., dynamic core stability exercises significantly decrease the impacts of landing forces during jumping and landing tasks.16 As a young, female athlete involved in competitive sport, the patient would benefit from continued core stability exercises to limit recurrent injury and maintain adequate trunk control during dynamic
The patient was also provided a home exercise program (HEP) to maintain her gains through physical therapy services. Throughout treatment, the rehabilitation program was updated accordingly based on the impairments that remained each week, and progressions were given for the interventions that required more difficulty. To begin the rehabilitation program, interventions started on a simpler scale, targeting a single direction in order to gain more stability before incorporating multidirectional tasks. The patient’s ankle stability had improved with one intervention, however, was limited in functional stability that required more dynamic control. Plyometric training was incorporated to improve dynamic ankle control and trunk control during sport specific activities. According to Kewwan et al., plyometric training is an effective way to improve ankle stability, functional ability and prevent re-injury.12 For individuals who have CAI, plyometric training that is implemented within a six-week rehabilitation program has helped improve landing strategies, dynamic postural control and increased single leg balance, as researched by Huang et al.18 In addition to plyometric training, balance rehabilitation programs performed on unstable surfaces were proven to increase the patient’s ankle …show more content…
Upon discharge, the patient presented with improved stability when performing simple, static one-directional tasks, but demonstrated an instability with dynamic tasks. Functionally, the patient is able to perform all activities of daily living, but when performing dynamic exercises that require maximum stability, it still remains to be a challenge. Plyometric training might be beneficial for the patient to continue within her daily regime for full return to sport. The patient demonstrated minimal improvement in core stability with a ten-second increase, indicating the need for continued core stability exercises. As researched by Araujo et al., dynamic core stability exercises significantly decrease the impacts of landing forces during jumping and landing tasks.16 As a young, female athlete involved in competitive sport, the patient would benefit from continued core stability exercises to limit recurrent injury and maintain adequate trunk control during dynamic