Ankle Injury Prevention Programs for High School Athletes: What a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Found

Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants who work with adolescent athletes in school, club, clinic, or sideline settings, and who field questions from coaches and parents about warm-up and prevention programming.

Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants. The content also suits athletic trainers, strength and conditioning professionals, and clinic staff who support youth sports programs.

Intended audience

Physical Therapy

Level

Intermediate

Delivery format

Online, asynchronous, self-paced course: interactive reading with audio or video, and a scored post-test.

Based on

Berkey R, Sunesara A, Allen L, Pontiff R, DeVries A, Fisher SR. Ankle Injury Prevention Programs for Youth Sports: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Sports Health. 2024;16(6):1029-1037. doi:10.1177/19417381241231588. PMID: 38406839. PMCID: PMC11531064.

After completing this course, you will be able to:

1. State what the pooled analysis of the ten randomized trials found about ankle injury rates in youth athletes who used exercise-based prevention programs compared with control groups.
2. Name the two exercise components that were common to every program in the review that produced a real reduction in ankle injuries.
3. Describe the limits the authors placed on their conclusions, including inconsistent injury definitions, the influence of a few large trials, and the role of adherence.

1. Start Here: How This Course Works
2. Podcast: Ankle Injury Prevention in Youth Sport (about nine minutes)
3. Ankle Injuries in Youth Sport and the Gap This Review Targeted
4. Searching, Screening, and Grading the Trials
5. Pooled Findings: A 26% Lower Rate of Ankle Injury
6. Strength, Agility, Adherence, and Coach Education: What Set the Successful Programs Apart
7. Limits of the Evidence and What the Authors Said It Means for Practice
8. Key Takeaways
9. Post-Test and Course Evaluation

Quinn Millington, PT, DPT, ECS is the instructor of record: the licensed clinician who reviewed this course and signed off on it. The name and credentials print on the certificate.

Disclosures. This course was developed by The ConEd Solution, which has a financial interest in its sale. No outside funding or sponsorship was received. The instructor of record has no affiliation with the authors of the source publication or their institutions.

This course awards 0.5 contact hours (30 min). How you earn them:

1. Complete the course. Every lesson, in order.
2. Pass the post-test. Score 80% or higher. Retakes are allowed.
3. Complete the evaluation. A short form rating each learning objective and the course.
4. Download your certificate. It is issued on completion and stays available in My Account.

The episode time is its measured length. Reading, post-test and evaluation times are estimates.

This course is designed to satisfy the quality requirements state boards set for continuing education. Requirements vary by state, and confirming that a course fits your renewal is up to you. Each state’s own acceptance statement is in the credit panel on this page.

1. Berkey R, Sunesara A, Allen L, Pontiff R, DeVries A, Fisher SR. Ankle Injury Prevention Programs for Youth Sports: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Sports Health. 2024;16(6):1029-1037. doi:10.1177/19417381241231588. PMID: 38406839. PMCID: PMC11531064.