To explore the effect of the integrated orthopedic rehabilitation pathway in rapid rehabilitation of ankle fracture.

From January 2021 to October 2022, 83 patients with ankle fracture in the orthopedic department of Affiliated Hospital 6 of Nantong University were enrolled. Exclusion criteria: other limb fractures or ligament injuries, ankle joint deformities, old fractures, open fractures, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and nervous system diseases. The patients were divided into integrated treatment group (n=41) and conventional treatment group (n=42) by random number table method. The waiting days before operation, hospitalization days, ankle circumference one day before surgery, two and three days after surgery, the visual analogue scale (VAS) of pain one day before operation, one day and three days after operation, the Baird-Jackson scores of ankle joint one week, one and three months after operation, and the postoperative complications rate between the two groups were compared. Independent t test, repeated measures ANOVA, rank-sum test, and chi square test were performed for data analysis.

The preoperative waiting days and hospitalization days in the integrated treatment group were significantly lower than those in the conventional treatment group (t =11.977, 17.653, both P<0.05). There were statistically significant differences in the time effect, inter group effect, and interaction effect in repeated measures ANOVA of ankle circumference with two groups of patients one day before surgery, two and three days after surgery (time: F=681.232, group: F=372.328, interaction: F=9.894, all P<0.05). There were statistically significant differences in the time effectand inter group effect in repeated measures ANOVA of VAS scores between the two groups of patients one day before surgery, one day and three days after surgery (time: F=223.310, group: F=17.532, both P<0.05). The Baird Jackson scores of the integrated treatment group were higher than those of the conventional treatment group at one week, one and three months after surgery (Z =-3.526、-5.627、-7.200, all P<0.05). The incidence of complications in the integrated treatment group was lower than that in the conventional treatment group, but the difference was not statistically significant(χ²=2.708, P>0.05).

The integrated orthopedic rehabilitation model can significantly reduce the degree of preoperative ankle swelling, control postoperative pain, shorten the waiting time before surgery and the average hospital stay, improve the quality of ankle function, reduce the risk of complications, and optimize the rapid rehabilitation path after ankle fracture surgery.