the ankle joint is one of the most commonly injured
joints in the body due to the forces it withstands and
the mass it supports. The ankle bears more weight per
unit area than any other joint in the body.1 Seventy-five percent
of all ankle injuries are ankle ligament injuries, with 85%
of those ankle sprains caused by inversion trauma.2 For the
purposes of this review, a lateral or inversion ankle sprain
denotes an acute injury of the lateral ligaments of the ankle
complex and is referred to as a lateral ankle sprain (LAS). In
a cost analysis study, Soboroff et al3 found that the cost of
treating these injuries ranged from $318 to $914 per sprain,
with an annual aggregate cost in the United States of $2 billion.
This figure provides a glimpse into the significant problems
associated with this condition.