Ten patients with acute lateral ligament injuries were treated by early non-bracing mobilization which involved early weight bearing and dynamic joint control training. No functional orthosis was needed using this method. A paired Student's t test was used to compare side-to-side difference on stress radiograph. Significant decrease occurred for both mean talar tilt angle from 10.9° to 1.0° (p<0.0001) and mean anterior drawer distance from 4.3mm to 0.3mm (p<0.0005). This early motion seems to have resulted in a number of benefits. It mechanically stimulated the injured ligaments to heal, and enabled immediate neuromuscular coordination retraining and financial savings compared to other methods. Early mobilization and weight bearing is considered as the method of choice and provided quick recovery in ankle mobility.
