title: Clinical assessment of ankle injury outcomes: case scenario using the foot and ankle ability measure.
abstract: PATIENT SCENARIO: A 20-y-old male Division 1 college basketball player sustained a grade 2 inversion ankle sprain during preseason that is preventing him from practicing and competing. CLINICAL OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT: The Foot and Ankle Ability Measure (FAAM) was administered to the injured athlete as an evaluative tool to provide the clinician with valuable subjective information on the patient's self-reported function. The FAAM consists of 2 subscales: the activities of daily living (ADL) subscale and the sports subscale. Together the 2 subscales contain 29 questions (21 questions on the ADL and 8 on the sports subscale), which assess self-reported function and disability in the foot and ankle. CLINICAL DECISION MAKING: The addition of the self-reported functional measures provides the clinician with more quantitative data to make clinical decisions than is possible with typical clinical exams. Self-reported functional assessments should not replace thorough clinical examination or sound clinical judgment; instead they should be an adjunct to them.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In addition to our objective assessment tools, the FAAM provides clinicians with a tool that can be used to assess function and disability through our patients' self-reported responses. When used for evaluative purposes the FAAM can measure an individual's changes in function and disability over time.
authors.affiliation: Exercise and Sport Injury Laboratory, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Nicole L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Cosby
authors.forename: Jay
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hertel
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D016512:Ankle Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D000843:Ankle Joint / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001490:Basketball / Q000293:injuries*; D003657:Decision Making; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D020127:Recovery of Function; D057566:Self Report; D013180:Sprains and Strains / Q000534:rehabilitation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult