Evidence on treatment and prevention of acute and recurrent ankle sprain.

Cailbhe Doherty and colleagues performed a systematic review with meta-analysis of 46 papers examining strategies for treating and preventing acute and recurrent ankle sprains.

This review found the strong evidence for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and early mobilization for effective management of pain, swelling and function after an acute sprain. Whereas they found only moderate evidence on the efficacy of therapeutic exercise and manual therapy techniques to manage acute ankle sprains. In terms of prevention of recurrent ankle sprain, also known as chronic ankle instability, this review concluded with strong evidence for bracing and moderate evidence for neuromuscular training.