According to a systematic review published early online in the British Medical Journal, additional supervised exercises compared with conventional treatment(non-surgical treatment such as immobilisation, non-supervised treatment involving exercise instructions, or use of external support)  alone have some benefit for recovery and return to sport in patients with ankle sprain, though the evidence is limited.

The systematic review was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of adding supervised exercises to conventional treatment compared with conventional treatment alone in patients with acute lateral ankle sprains.

Data from 11 studies were included, and the researchers concluded that limited to moderate evidence suggests that the addition of supervised exercises to conventional treatment leads to faster and better recovery and a faster return to sport at short term follow-up than conventional treatment alone. In specific populations (athletes, soldiers, and patients with severe injuries) this evidence was restricted to a faster return to work and sport only.

The researchers also note that most of the included studies had a high risk of bias, with few having adequate statistical power to detect clinically relevant differences.

A related editorial discusses the study.