Table 9.
Results of individual studies with return to work and sport as outcome measure classified by duration of follow-up
| Outcome | Conventional treatment | Supervised treatment | Effect size or relative risk* (95% CI) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short term | |||
| Brooks23 | |||
| No of days off work | 5.1/7.5/14.0† | 6.0 | NA |
| Hultman30 | |||
| Mean (SD) No of days off work | 6.1 (7.4) | 4.6 (6.1) | 0.22‡ (−0.34 to 0.77) |
| Karlsson21 | |||
| Mean (SD) No of days of sick | 10.2 (6.8) | 5.6 (4.2) | 0.82‡ (0.37 to 1.27)§ |
| Nilsson25 | |||
| Mean No of days of sick leave | 12.7 | 11.5 | NA |
| Reinhardt27 | |||
| Mean (SD) days before return to work | 8.7 (3.1) | 5.7 (3.1) | 0.96† (0.49 to 1.43)§ |
| Intermediate | |||
| Oostendorp26 | |||
| No (%) who had returned to work: | |||
| At 6 weeks | 10 (85) | 10 (86) | 1.00 (0.70 to 1.43) |
| At 12 weeks | 11 (88) | 11 (91) | 1.00 (0.79 to 1.27) |
| Long term | |||
| Oostendorp26 | |||
| No (%) who returned to work at 24 weeks | 11 (91) | 11 (94) | 1.00 (0.79 to 1.27) |
| Short term | |||
| Karlsson21 | |||
| Mean (SD) No of days before return to sports activity | 19.2 (9.5) | 9.6 (4.8) | 1.29† (0.82 to 1.76)§ |
| Reinhardt27 | |||
| Days before return to sports | 13.8 | 11.7 | NA |
| Intermediate | |||
| Oostendorp26 | |||
| No (%) who returned to sports training: | |||
| At 6 weeks | 7 (62) | 4 (30) | 0.57 (0.22 to 1.45) |
| At 12 weeks | 11 (88) | 5 (43) | 0.45 (0.23 to 0.91)§ |
| Long term | |||
| Oostendorp26 | |||
| No (%) who returned to sports training at 24 weeks | 11 (96) | 9 (74) | 0.82 (0.57 to 1.18) |
*Effect size >0 indicates beneficial effects of supervised treatment; relative risk <1.0 indicates beneficial effects of supervised treatment.
†In conventional treatment groups: no treatment, no support, or only minimal bandaging/double Tubigrip worn during day/complete immobilisation of ankle in below knee cast, weight bearing encouraged as soon as possible (see table 2).
‡Effect size.
§P<0.05.