Comparison of Magnetic Resonance Imaging to Physical Examination for Syndesmotic Injury after Lateral Ankle Sprain

The sensitivity of the squeeze test and external rotation test was low, suggesting that physical examination often fails to diagnose syndesmotic injury. Conversely, specificity was very high; nearly all patients with a positive test actually had syndesmotic injury. Severity of ankle sprain was not associated with prevalence of syndesmotic injury.