An acute lateral ankle sprain significantly decreases physical activity across the lifespan

We do not know the impact an ankle sprain has on physical activity levels across the lifespan. with the negative conse-quences of physical inactivity well established,understanding the effect of an ankle sprain on this outcome is critical. the objective of this study was to measure physical activity across the lifespan after a single ankle sprain in an animal model. thir-ty male mice (cba/j) were randomly placed into one of three groups: the transected calcaneofibular ligament (cfl) group,the transected anterior talofibular ligament (atfl)/cfl group,and a sham group. three days after surgery,all of the mice were individually housed in a cage containing a solid surface running wheel. physical activity levels were recorded and aver-aged every week across the mouse’s lifespan. the sham mice ran significantly more distance each day compared to the re-maining two running groups (post hoc p = 0.011). daily dura-tion was different between the three running groups (p = 0.048). the sham mice ran significantly more minutes each day com-pared to the remaining two running groups (post hoc p=0.046) while the atfl/cfl mice ran significantly less minutes each day (post hoc p = 0.028) compared to both the sham and cfl only group. the sham mice ran at a faster daily speed versus the remaining two groups of mice (post hoc p = 0.019) and the atfl/cfl mice ran significantly slower each day compared to the sham and cfl group (post hoc p = 0.005). the results of this study indicate that a single ankle sprain significantly de-creases physical activity across the lifespan in mice. this de-crease in physical activity can potentially lead to the develop-ment of numerous chronic diseases. an ankle sprain thus has the potential to lead to significant long term health risks if not treated appropriately. © journal of sports science and medicine.