Analysis of Temporary Work Disability Prescription for AnkleSprain at IMSS Family Medicine Unit No. 23A    /    Análisis de la prescripción de incapacidad temporal para el trabajo por esguince de tobillo en la UMF No. 23 del IMSS

Authors

  • Karina Abilene Cabrera Salazar SALAZAR Author https://orcid.org/0009-0000-0305-0618
  • GUADALUPE ARACELI NAVARRETE ESCALONA Translator
  • Andrés Rocha Aguado Translator

Keywords:

1. Esguince de tobillo. 2. Incapacidad temporal para el trabajo. 3. Riesgo de trabajo. 4. Medicina del trabajo.

Abstract

icencia Creative Commons

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Author Biographies

  • GUADALUPE ARACELI NAVARRETE ESCALONA

    The ankle sprain is a common musculoskeletal injury among the working population. It may lead to absenteeism, functional limitation, and delayed return to work. The duration of temporary work disability should correspond to clinical severity, clinical course, and job demands. The objective was to analyze the appropriateness of temporary work disability prescription in patients with work-related ankle sprain evaluated at the Occupational Health Service of Family Medicine Unit No. 23 of the Mexican Social Security Institute.

    Method or Procedure

    A descriptive, observational, cross-sectional, and ambispective study was conducted. A total of 139 medical records of patients aged 18 to 60 years, affiliated with Family Medicine Unit No. 23, with ankle sprain resulting from an occupational risk and treated from March 1, 2024, to March 1, 2025, were reviewed. A non-probabilistic convenience sample was used. Age, sex, body mass index, medical history, job position, sprain grade, affected extremity, days of temporary work disability (TWD), treatment, and rehabilitation were analyzed. TWD days were categorized according to the IMSS Guidelines for Duration of Disability by Condition (2015). Descriptive statistics and Kendall’s Tau-C test were used to analyze the association between sprain grade and TWD days, considering statistical significance at p < 0.05.

    Results

    Of the 139 patients, 54.7% were women (n = 76) and 45.3% were men (n = 63); the mean age was 36.71 years. Grade I sprains were present in 64% of patients (n = 89), and Grade II sprains in 36% (n = 50). In the overall distribution of TWD, 25% received ≤ 7 days, 59% received 8 to 21 days, and 16% received > 21 days. Among patients with Grade I sprains, 30 patients (34%) received ≤ 7 days, 52 (58%) received 8 to 21 days, and 7 (8%) received > 21 days; among those with Grade II sprains, 5 (10%), 30 (60%), and 15 (30%) received these durations, respectively. Only 4.3% received rehabilitation. Kendall’s Tau-C was 0.33, with p = 0.0001, showing a positive, statistically significant association of low-to-moderate magnitude between sprain severity and TWD duration.

    Table 1

    Distribution of temporary work disability days according to ankle sprain grade

    Disability days | Grade I, n (%) | Grade II, n (%) | Total, n (%)
    ≤ 7 days | 30 (34%) | 5 (10%) | 35 (25%)
    8 to 21 days | 52 (58%) | 30 (60%) | 82 (59%)

    21 days | 7 (8%) | 15 (30%) | 22 (16%)
    Total | 89 (100%) | 50 (100%) | 139 (100%)

    Note: Percentages are calculated by column for each sprain grade. Kendall’s Tau-C = 0.33; p = 0.0001.

    Source: Medical records from the Occupational Health Service of Family Medicine Unit No. 23, IMSS.

    Discussion and Conclusions

    Patients with higher-grade sprains tended to receive more days of temporary work disability. The observed association was statistically significant and of low-to-moderate magnitude, a finding consistent with disability prescription based on clinical severity. It is concluded that there is a significant association between sprain grade and TWD duration; higher grades were associated with more disability days, a pattern consistent with clinical appropriateness. Rehabilitation was infrequently used and therefore represents an area for improvement. It is recommended to strengthen referral criteria for rehabilitation and the follow-up of workers with prolonged functional recovery in order to promote a safe and timely return to work.

    References

    Vuurberg, G., Hoorntje, A., Wink, L. M., van der Doelen, B. F. W., van den Bekerom, M. P., Dekker, R., et al. (2018). Diagnosis, treatment and prevention of ankle sprains: Update of an evidence-based clinical guideline. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 52(15), 956. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2017-098106

    Navarrete Faubel, E., Sánchez González, M., Martín Oliva, X., & Vicent Carsí, V. (2022). Anatomy of the ankle and subtalar joint. Monografías de la Sociedad Española de Medicina y Cirugía del Pie y Tobillo, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.24129/j.mact.1401.fs2205001

    Dalmau-Pastor, M., Malagelada, F., Guelfi, M., & Vega, J. (2020). Anatomy of the ankle. Revista Española de Artroscopia y Cirugía Articular, 27(1). https://doi.org/10.24129/j.reaca.27167.fs1910045

    Rosas, M. L., Muñoz, J. L., Medina, R., & Zorrilla, P. (2020). Ankle sprain: anatomical review, diagnosis, types, and treatment. A literature review. Apuntes de Ciencia, 10(1), 1–6.

    Mexican Social Security Institute. (2015). Guidelines for the duration of disability by condition. IMSS.

    Conflict of Interest Statement

    The authors of this article declare that they had no conflicts of interest during the preparation or publication of this document.

    This work is protected under a Creative Commons license.

  • Andrés Rocha Aguado

    The ankle sprain is a common musculoskeletal injury among the working population. It may lead to absenteeism, functional limitation, and delayed return to work. The duration of temporary work disability should correspond to clinical severity, clinical course, and job demands. The objective was to analyze the appropriateness of temporary work disability prescription in patients with work-related ankle sprain evaluated at the Occupational Health Service of Family Medicine Unit No. 23 of the Mexican Social Security Institute.

    Method or Procedure

    A descriptive, observational, cross-sectional, and ambispective study was conducted. A total of 139 medical records of patients aged 18 to 60 years, affiliated with Family Medicine Unit No. 23, with ankle sprain resulting from an occupational risk and treated from March 1, 2024, to March 1, 2025, were reviewed. A non-probabilistic convenience sample was used. Age, sex, body mass index, medical history, job position, sprain grade, affected extremity, days of temporary work disability (TWD), treatment, and rehabilitation were analyzed. TWD days were categorized according to the IMSS Guidelines for Duration of Disability by Condition (2015). Descriptive statistics and Kendall’s Tau-C test were used to analyze the association between sprain grade and TWD days, considering statistical significance at p < 0.05.

    Results

    Of the 139 patients, 54.7% were women (n = 76) and 45.3% were men (n = 63); the mean age was 36.71 years. Grade I sprains were present in 64% of patients (n = 89), and Grade II sprains in 36% (n = 50). In the overall distribution of TWD, 25% received ≤ 7 days, 59% received 8 to 21 days, and 16% received > 21 days. Among patients with Grade I sprains, 30 patients (34%) received ≤ 7 days, 52 (58%) received 8 to 21 days, and 7 (8%) received > 21 days; among those with Grade II sprains, 5 (10%), 30 (60%), and 15 (30%) received these durations, respectively. Only 4.3% received rehabilitation. Kendall’s Tau-C was 0.33, with p = 0.0001, showing a positive, statistically significant association of low-to-moderate magnitude between sprain severity and TWD duration.

    Table 1

    Distribution of temporary work disability days according to ankle sprain grade

    Disability days | Grade I, n (%) | Grade II, n (%) | Total, n (%)
    ≤ 7 days | 30 (34%) | 5 (10%) | 35 (25%)
    8 to 21 days | 52 (58%) | 30 (60%) | 82 (59%)

    21 days | 7 (8%) | 15 (30%) | 22 (16%)
    Total | 89 (100%) | 50 (100%) | 139 (100%)

    Note: Percentages are calculated by column for each sprain grade. Kendall’s Tau-C = 0.33; p = 0.0001.

    Source: Medical records from the Occupational Health Service of Family Medicine Unit No. 23, IMSS.

    Discussion and Conclusions

    Patients with higher-grade sprains tended to receive more days of temporary work disability. The observed association was statistically significant and of low-to-moderate magnitude, a finding consistent with disability prescription based on clinical severity. It is concluded that there is a significant association between sprain grade and TWD duration; higher grades were associated with more disability days, a pattern consistent with clinical appropriateness. Rehabilitation was infrequently used and therefore represents an area for improvement. It is recommended to strengthen referral criteria for rehabilitation and the follow-up of workers with prolonged functional recovery in order to promote a safe and timely return to work.

    References

    Vuurberg, G., Hoorntje, A., Wink, L. M., van der Doelen, B. F. W., van den Bekerom, M. P., Dekker, R., et al. (2018). Diagnosis, treatment and prevention of ankle sprains: Update of an evidence-based clinical guideline. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 52(15), 956. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2017-098106

    Navarrete Faubel, E., Sánchez González, M., Martín Oliva, X., & Vicent Carsí, V. (2022). Anatomy of the ankle and subtalar joint. Monografías de la Sociedad Española de Medicina y Cirugía del Pie y Tobillo, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.24129/j.mact.1401.fs2205001

    Dalmau-Pastor, M., Malagelada, F., Guelfi, M., & Vega, J. (2020). Anatomy of the ankle. Revista Española de Artroscopia y Cirugía Articular, 27(1). https://doi.org/10.24129/j.reaca.27167.fs1910045

    Rosas, M. L., Muñoz, J. L., Medina, R., & Zorrilla, P. (2020). Ankle sprain: anatomical review, diagnosis, types, and treatment. A literature review. Apuntes de Ciencia, 10(1), 1–6.

    Mexican Social Security Institute. (2015). Guidelines for the duration of disability by condition. IMSS.

    Conflict of Interest Statement

    The authors of this article declare that they had no conflicts of interest during the preparation or publication of this document.

    This work is protected under a Creative Commons license.

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Published

2026-11-13

Issue

Vol. 9 No. S7 (2026): Memoria 13o. Foro

Section

Memoria - Resultados Originales

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Karina Abilene Cabrera Salazar (Autor/a); Guadalupe Araceli Navarrete Escalona, Andrés Rocha Aguado (Traductor/a)

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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How to Cite

Analysis of Temporary Work Disability Prescription for AnkleSprain at IMSS Family Medicine Unit No. 23A    /    Análisis de la prescripción de incapacidad temporal para el trabajo por esguince de tobillo en la UMF No. 23 del IMSS. (2026). Revista Red De Investigación En Salud En El Trabajo, 9(S7), 66-67. https://rist.zaragoza.unam.mx/act/index.php/rist/article/view/76

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