Investigating ankle sprains, recovery, and ongoing ankle problems in adolescent athletes

Participants will take part in a 5-year prospective observational cohort study investigating ankle ligament sprains and chronic ankle instability in adolescent athletes attending the Maribyrnong Sports Academy (Victoria, Australia). All eligible students will complete baseline and annual assessments as part of routine school-based testing. Each annual data collection session is expected to take approximately 60–90 minutes per participant, depending on scheduling and participant flow. Data collection will include: self-reported ankle injury history and ankle instability questionnaires demographic and anthropometric information clinical ankle assessments, including knee-to-wall dorsiflexion testing biomechanical testing using VALD ForceDecks, including single-leg balance and hopping tasks Participants who sustain an ankle ligament sprain during the study period will complete additional post-injury follow-up assessments approximately 2 months after injury. These post-injury assessments are expected to take approximately 30 minutes per participant. These assessments may include: Ankle-GO testing return-to-sport assessment self-reported ankle instability and functional questionnaires Injury surveillance will occur throughout the study period using physiotherapy and school injury records. Ankle injuries will be classified by qualified physiotherapists using standardised sports injury definitions and classification systems. This is an observational study and no experimental intervention will be provided.