Inner Ankle Ligament: What We Know and What We Need to Learn

Many people who hurt their ankle once end up with lasting wobbliness. About half of those with a previous ankle sprain develop chronic ankle instability. This ongoing looseness can raise the chance of getting ankle arthritis later. While most ankle sprains affect the outer ligaments, recent hints suggest the inner ligament, called the deltoid complex, might be injured more often than we think. Yet the way this ligament is built and how it works is described in many different ways across studies.

To clear up the confusion, researchers plan a systematic review. They will search large libraries such as Scopus, MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL and SPORTDiscus. The search will use terms like deltoid ligament, anatomy and biomechanics. Only papers that dissect or image the ligament in healthy adult human ankles and are written in English will be kept. Two reviewers will look at each paper on their own, judging quality with the AQUA tool. One reviewer will pull out the needed numbers, and a second reviewer will check those numbers for mistakes.

The review will focus on several traits: how common each band of the ligament is, its length, width, cross‑sectional area, the biggest load it can bear before failing, and its elastic modulus. When three or more studies report a trait, the team will combine the results into a pooled average with a 95 % confidence interval. If fewer studies are available, they will give a narrative summary instead. During synthesis they will note methodological differences and treat pooled numbers with caution. The findings should help build better computer models, guide clinical care, and highlight gaps for future work. The protocol is registered with PROSPERO under number CRD420251142867.

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