Some benefit from physiotherapy intervention in the subgroup of patients with severe ankle sprain as determined by the ankle function score: a randomised trial.

Questions: Do patients with a severe ankle injury (baseline ankle function score < or = 40) do worse in the short-term than patients with a mild injury (score > 40)? Does physiotherapy intervention have more effect on patients with a severe injury compared with a mild injury in the short- or long-term? Is self-reported recovery related to ankle function score over time?

Design: Subgroup analysis of a randomised trial.

Participants: 102 adults with an acute lateral ankle sprain.

Intervention: The experimental group received physiotherapist-supervised exercises in addition to conventional intervention.