Investigation of ligament strains in lateral ankle sprain using computational simulation of accidental injury cases

In order to clearly understand the injury mechanism of the Lateral ankle sprain (LAS), we purposed to evaluate the ligament strains in the human ankle joint during the real accidental events of LAS. Three different accidental ankle sprain cases were selected based on their reported motions, which are rarely captured under laboratory settings. The ligament strains were investigated using a computational ankle joint model based on the kinematic data from these case reports. Our result revealed that the excessive ankle inversion coupled with slight internal rotation could lead to LAS. Therefore, the ankle inversion and internal rotation should be primarily considered in LAS studies. This study quantitatively contributes to our understanding of the LAS mechanism in sport and clinical research.