Elite Athletes Successfully Return to the Preinjury Level of Sport Following Ankle Syndesmosis Injuries: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Category: Sports; Ankle Introduction/Purpose: No meta-analysis has been conducted to examine the clinical outcomes following operative and nonoperative management of high ankle sprain injuries in elite athletes. the purpose of this systematic review was (1) To report the rate and time to return to sport (RTS) following high ankle syndesmotic injury in elite athletes (2) To examine the rate and time of RTS as well as the postoperative complications in elite athletes who underwent surgical treatment of high ankle syndesmotic injury with screw versus suture button fixation. Methods: Three electronic databases were searched for eligible articles. Two reviewers independently screened the titles, abstract and full-text articles using pre-specified criteria. Eligible articles were those that reported the rate of return to sport following operative and nonoperative treatment of ankle syndesmotic injuries in elite athletes (collegiate or professional level). Data collected were type of sport, type of treatment received (operative versus nonoperative), surgical technique (screw versus suture button fixation), rate and time to return to the preinjury level of competition, and complications. A random-effects model was used for meta-analysis. Results: The estimated overall rate of RTS was 99% (95% CI 95.5-99.9). The mean time to RTS was 38 +- 18 (range: 14-137) days. Of the 440 athletes, 269 (269/440,61%) were treated nonoperatively (nonoperative group); the rate of RTS was 99.6% and the athletes returned at a mean time of 29+-14 (range: 13-45) days. A total of 171 athletes (171/440,39%) underwent surgical treatment (operative group); All (171/171,100%) athletes returned at a mean time of 50.3+-13 (range:41-137) days. Almost all athletes who underwent surgery had suture button fixation (164/171 athletes,96%) and the mean time to RTS was 7 weeks with 9.1% complication rate. Conclusion: Elite athletes with ankle syndesmosis injury return to sport at an extremely high rates, following operative or nonoperative treatment. Suture button fixation remains the gold standard technique in elite athletes with syndesmotic injury requiring surgical treatment. Return to the preinjury level of competition should be expected at 4 weeks and 7 weeks in high-level athletes who undergo nonoperative and operative management, respectively.