Risk Factors for Lateral Ankle Sprains and Chronic Ankle Instability

Lateral ankle sprains (LASs) are a common injury sustained by individuals who participate in recreational physical activities and sports. After an LAS, a large proportion of individuals develop long-term symptoms, which contribute to the development of chronic ankle instability (CAI). Due to the prevalence of LASs and the propensity to develop CAI, collective efforts toward reducing the risk of sustaining these injuries should be a priority of the sports medicine and sports physiotherapy communities. The comprehensive injury-causation model was developed to illustrate the interaction of internal and external risk factors in the occurrence of the inciting injury. The ability to mitigate injury risk is contingent on a comprehensive understanding of risk factors for injury. The objective of this current concepts review is to use the comprehensive injury-causation model as a framework to illustrate the risk factors for LAS and CAI based on the literature.