Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39995611›Full record

ArticleBMJ open sport & exercise medicine2025

Time-loss and recurrence rate of lateral ankle sprains in male professional football players depending on the severity grade: do we trivialise LAS?

Zacharias Flore, Karen Hambly, Kyra De Coninck, Götz Welsch

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open sport & exercise medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Zacharias FloreSchool of Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-9453-6516
Karen HamblySchool of Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.
Kyra De ConinckSchool of Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.
Götz WelschUKE-Athleticum, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objectives: Lateral ankle sprains (LAS) are among the most common injuries in professional football (soccer). Despite this, the severity and possible long-term consequences of LAS remain trivialised. This multicentre observational study in German elite football provides insights into time-loss and recurrence rates after LAS. Time-loss and recurrence rates are outcome measures vital for the future evaluation of rehabilitation protocols. Methods: 798 male football players representing 34 teams from 13 professional German football clubs participated in this study during the 2021-2022 season, followed by a 12-month follow-up period. Data collection and reporting were carried out in accordance with the UEFA recommendations for the standardised collection of data on football injuries. Time-loss, recurrence rate and standardised severity grades (I-III) after LAS were recorded for professionals, U23, U19 and U17, respectively. Results: A total of 187 ankle injuries were reported, with 115 out of the total being analysed. The overall time-loss was 29.89 days, with significant differences between youth elite players and professionals (32.96 vs 15.53 days lost; p<0.001). Professional players demonstrated the shortest time-loss in all LAS injury grades. Time-loss decreased with advancing age ( Conclusion: This study provides data on time-loss and recurrence, which serve as reference values for future evaluation of rehabilitation concepts after LAS in elite football players.

Indexed as

AnkleFootballRecurrentRehabilitationSprain

Identifiers

PMID39995611
PMCPMC11848657

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.