RETURN TO PLAY

Before the athlete can return to full participation, she needs to show that her ankle is stable enough to handle game situations. There should be no pain or return of symptoms reported with any of these drills.

Criteria to test for return to play:

No return of swelling or inflammation with activity
5/5 strength in all motions
100% range of motion compared bilaterally
Return of normal pain-free walking gait and running gait (1 mile run with 0/10 on pain scale)
80 % or better compare to uninjured leg with single leg hop test

ANYWHERE DRILL

The player stands in the middle of the court in a ready position. The coach stands in front of her with a basket of volleyballs. She slaps the blal and tosses it anywhere, and the player has to chase it and pass it to a target standing at the net. The coach can throw the ball as far or as close as she wants, making the player sprint and dive.

SCRAMBLES

The patient starts in the back right hand of the court. She serves a ball, then sprints up to the ten-foot line. She does an approach as though she's going to hit, then side steps along the net. With each side step, she goes up to block a ball. Once she hits the left side of the volleyball net, she back pedals to the back left hand corner, then shuffles back to the start.

SCRIMMAGE

The patient should participate in a controlled scrimmage before returning to play. The coach or clinician can control the pace of play, the style of play, and where the patient is on the court. The clinician should watch the patient for signs of hesitation, guarding, or other psychological issues that may affect real-time game play.

BLOCK-AND-SPRINT

Four players stand on one side of the net as spikers. Each spiker has one ball to hit over the net at one defender. The defender (injured patient) must move down the line quickly, blocking each spike that comes her way. Proper technique and speed are emphasized with this drill.

SPRINTS

The patient starts at one end of the court, sprints to the ten-foot line, does an approach, then sprints back. The patient will repeat the sprint three more times, then rest for one minute before repeating.

SHUFFLE DRILL

The patient starts in the ready position in the middle of the court, with the clinician standing in front of her. The clinician will point either left, right, forward, or backwards and the patient will shuffle in the direction she points. When the clinician claps once, the patient will dive in the direction she is shuffling in. When the clinician claps twice, the patient will jump straight up like she is blocking a serve. The drill should last for at least thirty seconds at a time.