Ace the SPEC Chiropractic Test 2026 – Align Your Path to Success!

Injuries to the ankle’s lateral ligaments from an inversion with plantarflexion first affect the ATFL. A positive anterior drawer test means the ATFL has laxity or is partially torn. When swelling and ecchymosis are present but there isn’t gross instability, this points to a partial tear rather than a complete rupture. That level of injury corresponds to a Grade II sprain: a partial ATFL tear with moderate tenderness and swelling and measurable laxity on the anterior drawer test.

If the drawer test were normal, it would suggest a Grade I sprain; if there were gross instability and marked laxity, it would indicate a Grade III sprain. A contusion would show bruising without ligament laxity or a positive drawer test.