Beyond Conventional Care: Evaluating Advanced Physiotherapy Approaches in Acute Ankle Sprain Treatment
Keywords:
ankle sprain, rehabilitation, Mulligan mobilization, functional therapy, range of motionAbstract
Ankle sprains are among the most common musculoskeletal injuries, affecting individuals across various age groups and activity levels. This study aims to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of conservative treatment approaches with advanced therapeutic techniques in the management of acute ankle sprains. A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 100 participants, divided equally into a control group receiving conventional therapy and an experimental group receiving a combination of functional therapy and Mulligan mobilization techniques. Outcomes were measured using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for pain, goniometric measurements for range of motion (ROM), and the Foot and Ankle Disability Index (FADI) for functional recovery. Results demonstrated significantly greater improvements in the experimental group across all outcome measures. The combined approach led to superior pain reduction (p = 0.004), increased dorsiflexion ROM (p < 0.001), and accelerated functional recovery (p = 0.002) compared to conventional therapy alone. These findings suggest that integrating advanced techniques such as Mulligan mobilization with functional therapy can enhance the effectiveness of acute ankle sprain rehabilitation, potentially leading to faster recovery and reduced risk of chronic instability.
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