New Victoria University (VU) research has ranked the impact of repeat ankle injuries across four popular women's sports and four countries, finding netball the worst with players spraining each ankle up to four times.
The study also found repeated ankle sprains or greater ankle instability can lead to poorer quality of life.
Researchers surveyed 578 female athletes participating in netball, basketball, volleyball and soccer competitions across Australia, New Zealand, United States and the United Kingdom, to try and address underreporting of the prevalence and impact of chronic ankle instability among female athletes.
Participants were aged over 18 years with the largest cohort 18-24. All participants had played sport for a minimum of 12 months, with the level ranging from community sport to elite athletes.
Ankle sprains can occur during an awkward landing or standing on another person's foot, resulting in an inward roll of the foot and stretching or tearing the ligaments on the outside of the ankle. It can lead to a higher risk of repeated sprains and feelings of the ankle 'giving way' during normal daily tasks, known as 'chronic ankle instability.'
Of the 578 who participated in the survey, 77 per cent reported a history of at least one ankle sprain. Of that cohort, 73 per cent had suffered repeated ankle injuries and averaged up to four sprains per ankle per person.
Physiotherapist and VU lecturer and researcher, Patrick Rowe led the Australian and New Zealand analysis of the work.
"Ankle sprains are traditionally perceived as a simple injury by athletes with minimal consequence. However, emerging evidence suggests that a 'simple' ankle ligament sprain can significantly increase your risk of developing chronic ankle instability and can greatly impact your health and function later in life," Mr Rowe said.
Three-quarters of survey respondents were netballers. Netball reported the highest rates of chronic ankle instability, consistent with other international studies ranking it the worst sport for ankle injuries.
It can also lead to poor quality of life, ranging from pain during sports participation, reduced physical activity levels, limited social interactions and impacts on mental health.
External ankle supports (taping or bracing) can drastically reduce ankle injury risk - up to 70 per cent in some cases. However, prevention measures and rehabilitation after an ankle sprain are often not given the same importance as other injuries, such as ACLs, particularly at community level sports.
As Mr Rowe points out, adoption of these prevention measures are poor across community netball and requires buy-in from all netball stakeholders to create a change.
"Mitigating ankle injury rates is the first step in ensuring netballers remain in the sport and reducing the long-term consequences of chronic ankle instability and ongoing strains on our healthcare system," he said.
