Correlation of Stress Radiographs to Injuries Associated with Lateral Ankle Instability

CATEGORY: Ankle; Sports INTRODUCTION/PURPOSE: Stress radiographs have demonstrated superior efficacy in the evaluation of ankle instability. The purpose of this study is to determine if there is a degree of instability evidenced by stress radiographs that is associated with pathology concomitant with ankle ligamentous instability. METHODS: A retrospective review of 87 consecutive patients aged 18-74 who had stress radiographs performed at a single institution between 2014 and 2020 was performed. These manual radiographic stress views were then correlated with MRI and operative findings. RESULTS: A statistically significant association was determined for the mean and median stress radiographic values and the presence of peroneal pathology (p=0.008 for tendonitis and p= 0.020 for peroneal tendon tears). A significant inverse relationship was found between the presence of an osteochondral defect and increasing degrees of instability (p=0.043). CONCLUSION: Stress radiographs may assist the surgeon in clinical decision making.