Initial management of acute ankle sprains with rapid pulsed pneumatic compression and cold.

Sports medicine practioners must be prepared to aggressively treat musculoskeletal trauma with both therapeutically sound and time efficient regimens. Thorough early treatment is essential for prevention of further trauma, for an expedient recovery, and for the earliest possible return to activity. The present study sought to evaluate the efficacy of rapid pulsed pneumatic compression along with cold in the amelioration of the acute symptoms associated with lateral ankle ligament sprains. Active range of motion and volumetric measures of ankle edema were made before and after 20-minute compression treatments on a series of 19 acute grade I lateral ankle ligament sprains. The number of treatments required before initiation of rehabilitation exercise ranged from one to eight with a mean of three. Rapid pulsed pneumatic compression along with cold is a safe and therapeutically sound method of controlling pain, loss of motion, and edema associated with this common injury. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 1982;4(1):39-43.