Surgical Versus Functional Treatment for Acute Ruptures of the Lateral Ligament Complex of the Ankle in Young Males - A Randomized Controlled Trial With a Mean of 14 Years Follow-up

August 6, 2009 updated by: Finnish Defense Forces
The aim of this prospective randomized controlled trial was to compare the effectiveness of surgical and conservative treatment in acute lateral ligament injury of ankle. The more detailed aims were to assess the function, physical activity level, re-injuries, objective stability and radiographic changes seen by magnetic resonance imaging in patients randomized to surgery or to functional treatment after a mean of 14 years follow-up.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

51

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Finland
      • Helsinki, Finland, 00301
        • Central Military Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

19 years to 25 years (ADULT)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

N/A

Genders Eligible for Study

Male

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • The inclusion criteria included positive stress radiographs (in all cases) and arthrography 15 (5 cases) proven fibulotalar anterior (FTA) and fibulocalcanear (FC) ligament injury.
  • The positive findings for a lateral ligament injury included a clinically unstable ankle and a radiological talar tilt >6 degrees or ADS >5 mm compared with the uninjured opposite ankle.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • The exclusion criteria for the study were diabetes, inflammatory arthritis, previous severe trauma, pre-existing instability of joints.
  • In addition, patients were excluded from our study if they had previously undergone surgery of the ankle region.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: TREATMENT
  • Allocation: RANDOMIZED
  • Masking: SINGLE

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
EXPERIMENTAL: surgery
All twenty-five patients underwent ligament repair, where the ruptured ends of the FTA (in 11 cases) or FTA and FC (in 14 cases) ligaments were rejoined by using absorbable sutures. A supine position and a tourniquet were used. A curvilinear skin incision of 5-10 cm was made; the retinacular structures were incised and the hematoma was removed.
Procedure: lateral ligament surgery
. The disrupted FTA or/and FC and superficial retinacular structures were repaired by using absorbable sutures. In case of avulsion from the bone, the ligament was reapproximated with the use of sutures that were passed through 2.0 millimeter drill-holes in the bone.
ACTIVE_COMPARATOR: functional treatment
Twenty-six patients randomized to the functional treatment received a functional light-weight orthotic device (Air-Cast ankle brace, Summit, New Jersey) for 3 weeks. Full weight bearing was allowed. The ankle brace allowed dorsi- and plantarflexion but it restricted inversion and eversion of the ankle
Device: functional treatment
Twenty-six patients randomized to the functional treatment received a functional light-weight orthotic device (Air-Cast ankle brace, Summit, New Jersey) for 3 weeks. Full weight bearing was allowed. The ankle brace allowed dorsi- and plantarflexion but it restricted inversion and eversion of the ankle.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
The main outcome measure in the present study was a validated ankle injury scoring scale, A Performance Test Protocol and Scoring Scale for the Evaluation of Ankle Injuries.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Return to pre-injury level in physical activity, re-injuries of the same ankle, visits to physician due to the same ankle, range of joint motion, subjective satisfaction and complications were measured

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Finnish Defense Forces

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

February 1, 1991

Primary Completion (ACTUAL)

December 1, 2008

Study Completion (ACTUAL)

December 1, 2008

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 6, 2009

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 6, 2009

First Posted (ESTIMATE)

August 7, 2009

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (ESTIMATE)

August 7, 2009

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 6, 2009

Last Verified

August 1, 2009

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 555555

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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