ABSTRACT
The most frequently injured site in football is the ankle joint. Among the ankle injuries the vast majority consist of supination traumas. The physical examination after an acute supination trauma is usually not reliable in discriminating between a distorsion or a rupture of the lateral ankle ligaments. The first question that has to be answered is if there is a fracture or not. If the patient can stand and walk on the injured leg and there is no pressure pain on the fibula then the chance of a significant fracture is less than 0.6 percent. If we can examine the patient on the “field” within a few minutes after the trauma before swelling has occurred, then it is usually possible to examine the ankle joint for instability. When swelling has occurred and the pain is diffusely present, then stability testing is not possible.
