| Summary: | Background and Purpose: Psychologically informed practice is useful to improve clinical decision making. The purpose of this case report is to describe clinical reasoning using a psychologically informed approach in a young male athlete following a lateral ankle sprain and to describe novel treatment for maladaptive fear-avoidance beliefs using motor imagery and cognitive restructuring techniques. Methods: A 19-year-old male that was 6 weeks post lateral ankle sprain revealed fear during interview, clinical testing and in the Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia-11 (TSK-11). Findings: Improvements were found in dorsiflexion range of motion, single leg side hopping, Foot and Ankle Ability Measure (FAAM) sports subscale, the TSK-11, and subjective fear reports at discharge. The patient returned to full basketball participation after 7 weeks of psychologically informed physical therapy interventions. Clinical Relevance and Conclusion: Multimodal care using a psychologically informed intervention approach consisting of manual therapy, exercise, mental imagery, and cognitive restructuring educational techniques may allow faster return to sport.
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