Forces in the lateral ankle ligaments during non-resisted and resisted ankle internal/external rotation using finite element analysis

Three-dimensional (3D) finite element analysis (FEA) was used to quantify the forces transmitted in the anterior talofibular ligament (ATFL) and calcaneofibular ligament (CFL) during non-resisted and resisted ankle internal/external rotation (NIER and RIER). Four healthy male subjects were recruited and received CT and MRI scans and performed NIER and RIER under the surveillance of a biplane fluoroscopy, and analysed using FEM. The results showed that the CFL force was greater than ATFL force during the entire motion in both conditions, and both ATFL and CFL forces were greater in non-resisted condition than resisted condition. This study provided a better understanding of the in vivo biomechanical behaviour of the ATFL and CFL.