RELIABILITY AND RESPONSIVENESS OF DISABLEMENT MEASURES FOLLOWING ACUTE ANKLE SPRAINS AMONG ATHLETES

The minimum amount of change which represents clinical improvement fol lowing ankle sprains is unknown. This study considers the usefulness o f physiological and behavioral measures commonly employed for this pur pose in sports rehabilitation settings. Thirteen collegiate athletes o f both genders were measured at approximately 3 and 10 days post-grade I or II ankle sprain. Volumetric displacement and sagittal plane ankl e range of motion measures were used as impairment indicators. Motor a bility scores (activity count) and a perceived athletic ability measur e (visual analog scale) were used to indicate functional limitations. Volumetric displacement and both functional limitation measures demons trated responsiveness to change between two occasions of measurement s eparated by I week. Observed changes in range of motion deficits could not be distinguished from measurement error. The results of this stud y suggest that behavioral measures of motor activity and perceived ath letic ability may be at least as useful as physical measures of organi c dysfunction for assessing clinical improvement following acute ankle sprains among athletes.