The relationships of ankle ligamentous injuries with physical and positional characteristics in college football players

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships of ankle ligamentous injuries with physical and positional characteristics in college football players. Specific hypothesis was addressed whether medial ankle ligamentous complex (MALC) injury was often caused by oversized players, offensive or defensive linemen. 53 subjects participated in this study. We examined their previous history of ankle ligamentous injuries and classified them into three groups: (1) the lateral ankle ligamentous complex (LALC) injury group; (2) the MALC injury group; and (3) the no ankle ligamentous (NAL) injury group. Regarding MALC injury, we obtained the following results. First, MALC injury occupied 35% of total ankle ligamentous injuries. Second, both body weight and BMI of the MALC injury group were significantly the heaviest and largest of the groups. Lastly, OL, LB, and DL occupied highest occurring percentage (75%) of MALC injury. We concluded that MALC injury tended to be incurred by the players with heavier body weight and/or larger BMI. Players OL, LB, or DL also suffered MALC injury. Thus, these results suggest that body weight, BMI and position are considered as the risk factor for MALC injury.