ArticleFoot & ankle orthopaedics2022
Return to Play After Isolated Syndesmotic Ligamentous Injury in Athletes: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
Article in Foot & ankle orthopaedics, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 9 citations in OpenAlex.
- Return-to-sport rate and time in elite athletes after ankle syndesmosis injuries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2025Pooled it
- Return-to-Sport Outcomes After Suture Button Fixation for Syndesmotic Injury in Elite Athletes With Chronic Lateral Ankle Instability: A Prospective Case Series.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2026Article
- The Ankle-GO™ score predicts return to sport after surgically treated unstable syndesmotic injuries.Journal of experimental orthopaedics · 2026Article
- Decision-Making and Management of Acute Isolated Syndesmosis Injuries in Athletes.The Iowa orthopaedic journal · 2026Review
- Reframing Ankle Sprain Management: The Role of Thermography in Ligament Injury Monitoring.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Full Return to Sport in All Athletes After Suture-Button Fixation for Syndesmotic Injuries; However, Faster Recovery Was Seen in National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Players Compared with National Football League Players.Arthroscopy, sports medicine, and rehabilitation · 2025Article
- Radiographic comparison of weight-bearing and non-weight-bearing positions in evaluating the distal tibiofibular syndesmosis: a single-center study of 72 ankles.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2025Article
- The Application of a Return-to-Performance Pathway for an International Soccer Player Recovering From Ankle Syndesmosis Stabilization in Time for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. A Case Report.Journal of athletic training · 2025Article
- Cryo plus Ultrasound Therapy, a Novel Rehabilitative Approach for Football Players with Acute Lateral Ankle Injury Sprain: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Syndesmotic ankle sprains are common and challenging injuries for athletes. The management of such injuries is controversial, with a paucity of evidence on treatment protocols with unpredictability regarding the time lost to participate in sports following injury. The present study seeks to review and report the return to play (RTP) time and examine the outcomes and complications of ankle syndesmotic sprains in the athletic population. Methods: PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar were queried in August 2021 for case series, cohorts, and randomized controlled trials that evaluated return to play time after ankle syndesmotic sprains. The primary outcomes were the rate and time to return to play after syndesmotic ankle sprains for both surgical and nonsurgical treatment. Secondary outcomes included short-term complications and recurrence. Results: Eighteen articles were eligible for meta-analysis with a total of 1133 syndesmotic sprains. The overall RTP was 99% (95% CI 0.96, 1.00), the overall mean RTP was 52.32 days (95% CI 39.01, 65.63). Pooled RTP for surgically treated patients was 70.94 days (95% CI 47.04, 94.85), whereas it was 39.33 days (95% CI 28.78, 49.88) for nonsurgically treated cases. A low incidence of recurrence and complications were reported. Conclusion: This article reports a high rate of RTP after syndesmotic sprains. Grade of injury and surgical vs conservative management can affect the time to RTP in high-level athletes.
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Registered trials
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