Management and Return to Play of the Elite Athlete for Common Sports-Related Injuries About the Ankle

J Benjamin Jackson 3rd; Nicholas L Strasser; Tyler Gonzalez; Joseph Park

doi:10.5435/JAAOS-D-24-00570

Management and Return to Play of the Elite Athlete for Common Sports-Related Injuries About the Ankle

J Am Acad Orthop Surg. 2025 May 9. doi: 10.5435/JAAOS-D-24-00570. Online ahead of print.

Authors

J Benjamin Jackson 3rd¹, Nicholas L Strasser, Tyler Gonzalez, Joseph Park

Affiliation

¹ From the University of South Carolina School of Medicine-Prisma Health, Columbia, SC (Jackson and Gonzalez), the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN (Strasser), the University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA (Park), and FASSTER Consortium (Jackson, Gonzalez, Strasser, and Park).

PMID: 40397906
DOI: 10.5435/JAAOS-D-24-00570

Abstract

Ankle injuries are among the common injuries seen in many collegiate and professional sports. The wide range of pathology, pathophysiology, mechanisms of injury, differences in sport demands, evolution of treatment, and variable return to play (RTP) timelines make it difficult, at times, for physicians to treat these injuries. Modern diagnostic tools, surgical treatment devices, and rehabilitation protocols have allowed for more accurate and rapid diagnosis, an improved ability to reestablish normal anatomy, and accelerated RTP for many ankle sports-related injuries. This summary will provide up-to-date, evidence-based, treatment options for common sports-related ankle injuries along with the authors preferred method of treatment and RTP algorithms for the elite athlete.