Weekly ankle lunge test screening might help prevent ankle injuries

Previous studies have indicated that almost 80% of injuries in track and field athletes affect the lower limb which makes injury prevention in this area so important. Therefore, it is important to constantly monitor the condition of athletes’ musculoskeletal system during pre-season to prevent injuries and to maximize performance. To screen athletes, we performed an ankle lunge test along with injury registration during 15 weeks of the autumn training period. The tests were carried out on twelve semi-professional track and field athletes (seven male and five female) from one training group. Nine of the twelve athletes suffered an injury to their lower extremity during the study period and five of them sustained an ankle or foot area injury. Changes in ankle dorsiflexion compared to the pre-study and on a week prior to the injury were indicators for ankle or foot area injury, especially when the measurement was outside standard deviations. In conclusion, weekly screening by ankle lunge test and comparing the test results to the standard deviation of the previous average values may predict which athletes have an increased risk of ankle overuse injuries.