Give Me Your Opinion

[h2omyrtle]

I rolled my ankle once without a brace and once with. But it always made you feel better to have the brace on, i felt safer.

[sofine]

I think that in a way they are good because they keep people from having so many ankle injuries and you don't have to worry so much on twising it, but also there is the downside of wearing them when not needed ends up making your ankles very weak. So i think it is just whatever the player wants to do or needs to do.

 

 

Please re-read my previous post. In all my years, I have NEVER read or heard of a study where it is proven that braces weaken ankles. If there is such a study out there, I would love to read it.

 

 

PHargis....I'll try to address some of your comments.

 

There are many types of foot injuries that can occur with any sport. And I have never found a certain sport having a greater incidence of a specific foot injury over any other. Maybe there is, but I personally haven't seen it. Perhaps the most common type of foot ailment that I see common to ALL sports are blisters and excessive callous formation. Once again, these can happen with any sport, but I do tend to see more of these in basketball. As far as the age level that you state where injuries seem to occur, there are many variables to take into consideration and not knowing the history of a specific injury makes it hard to discuss in length.

 

Before I address shoe inserts, we need to look at athletic shoes.

 

I'm not a big fan of many of the athletic shoes that are on the market right now. To me, the big name shoe companies are trying to sell "Style" instead of "Function". And, in my opinion, most athletic shoes are pure crap when it comes to providing the support that an athlete's foot needs. Not all feet are made the same and certain people need more support than others. But most athletic shoes have no support whatsoever. As a result, the biomechanics of the athletes foot can change and lead to an injury, instead of preventing it. The subject of shoes can be discussed in depth and be really long and boring, so I'm not going to go any further with it. Just know that improper shoes can lead to foot, ankle, lower leg, knee, hip and back problems.

 

I endorse shoe inserts. Once again, we can go into great detail here, but I usually have success with the kinds that you can find at your local Wal-Mart. Specifically, something that cushions the heel and provides support to the arch that runs from the big toe to the heel on the inner portion of the foot (longitudinal arch). In my experience, these types of inserts seem to reduce the severity of the dreaded "shin splints" that affect so many athletes. Inserts can also provide stability to a sprained ankle, achilles problems, calf strains as well as alleviate many other problems associated with the lower body.

 

Here are a two links to types of inserts that I recommend to my athletes. There are many different brands, but I have had success with this brand:

 

http://www.drscholls.com/product.aspx?prodid=28

 

http://www.drscholls.com/product.aspx?prodid=27

 

Hope some of this helps and sorry if I sounded kinda vague in my explanations. But when you start talking feet, shoes and inserts - the subject can go on forever.

[LaDyWaVe1071]

I feel that they are of very little if any help. Kind of like the knee brace. If an ankle is going to give way the brace is going to do very little to stop it. Most medical people, if they are honest, will tell you that. They give some stability to the area but not very much. More of a mental thing. JMO

 

I have to wear braces on both of my ankles. They help alot. i just recently sprained my right ankle and i can tell a difference when im playing with or without a brace because it keeps it stabalized.

 

Yes, if already injured, or if it has been a chronic problem in past.

 

No, otherwise.

 

if i had my ankle braced before i sprained it, then i would have never sprained it.

[cullycrazie15]

On some teams they are mandatory, most teams they're optional.

 

Do they help, or do they just make for weak ankles because they're always braced?

 

What's the general opinion out there?

 

when i broke my ankle my physical therapist said i shouldnt wear a brace because it weakens the muscles so according to him they are bad.

[PHargis]

when i broke my ankle my physical therapist said i shouldnt wear a brace because it weakens the muscles so according to him they are bad.

another high profile player, Ebney, in West Tenness has missed much of the season already due to a severe ankle sprain. Wonder if she had previously ankle problems or was she wearing braces? what is she going to do now? does she think she will miss all of the season? How did it happen? Player may be in Perry county.

[PHargis]

another high profile player, Ebney, in West Tenness has missed much of the season already due to a severe ankle sprain. Wonder if she had previously ankle problems or was she wearing braces? what is she going to do now? does she think she will miss all of the season? How did it happen? Player may be in Perry county.

bump

[ooldrebel]

Sofine you make several good points. In our clinic, we have put several players, particularly females in custom orthotics. There are a couple of studies....will have to go back to find them, that show reduced ocurrence of ACL injuries when orthotics are in their shoes. Now, I'm not trying to endorse custom orthotics for every ball player, but as you stated everything starts with proper biomechanics at the foot. And bad foot mechanics can cause knee problems and cause pain all the way up to the back.

 

I prefer the Ultra Ankle for an acute sprain or chronic sprain, because it give more support than the ASA or ASO. But all of our basketball players wear them. And it makes my job much easier.

[Mr. Polesit]

Sofine you make several good points. In our clinic, we have put several players, particularly females in custom orthotics. There are a couple of studies....will have to go back to find them, that show reduced ocurrence of ACL injuries when orthotics are in their shoes. Now, I'm not trying to endorse custom orthotics for every ball player, but as you stated everything starts with proper biomechanics at the foot. And bad foot mechanics can cause knee problems and cause pain all the way up to the back.

 

I prefer the Ultra Ankle for an acute sprain or chronic sprain, because it give more support than the ASA or ASO. But all of our basketball players wear them. And it makes my job much easier.

 

Good point rebel... Ultra Ankle does seem to be better. I think one main reason the ASO is very popular other than the effectiveness is its low cost-23-26bucks... Correct me if I'm wrong but I think Ultras are about 45? a piece. Preventing an injury is worth every penny but not always easy for parents to understand the difference. They usually don't understand that the typical lace-up from Hibbetts doesn't compare.....

[sofine]

I prefer the ASO Braces for preventative measures, but I agree that the Ultra-Ankle is the best for post-injury. In my opinion, the Ultra-Ankle seems to give more stability to a previously injured ankle, especially the dreaded "High Ankle Sprain". But, as mentioned....the cost factor.

 

Question for the ATC's....

 

In your opinion, is their a difference in the Turf and Court models of these braces? I'm using a turf model on a basketball player right now, and both of us are happy with the results.

 

The following is for all of the ATC's out there that read these posts. I got this from Sports Pickle.com

 

 

First Case of Low Ankle Sprain Since '74 Surfaces

 

The Centers for Disease Control announced today that the country’s first case of low ankle sprain since 1974 has been reported. The rare condition struck a male high school basketball player in Indiana.

 

“We are taking this case very seriously,” said CDC director Brian Patterson. “High ankle sprains are all we’ve seen for two decades. Every now and then we get a plain ankle sprain, but this is extremely rare. We have very few doctors with any experience in treating the non-high ankle sprain. We had thought low ankle sprains had been eradicated from the earth.”

 

The stricken boy is being quarantined at an undisclosed Indiana hospital until a decision is made on how to proceed. Patterson said it is too early to tell if there is a link between terrorism and the boy’s low ankle sprain, but that he is “very scared.”

Edited December 7, 2005 by sofine

[sofine]

ooldrebel.....

 

I read something several years ago in Biomechanics Magazine talking about how females with flat feet can possibly incur more ACL / Knee injuries.

 

Specifically, the navicular bone in the foot may not be anatomically aligned, leading to pronation, which causes an internal rotation of the tibia, which leads to a torsion / loading stress on the ACL.

 

It definitely makes sense to me. Have you, or any of the other ATC's heard of this?? Like I said, I read it in Biomechanics Magazine, but I trashed that article a long time ago, so I don't have a reference to give.

 

Phargis would be proud that he doesn't have to type "BUMP"

[ooldrebel]

I prefer the ASO Braces for preventative measures, but I agree that the Ultra-Ankle is the best for post-injury. In my opinion, the Ultra-Ankle seems to give more stability to a previously injured ankle, especially the dreaded "High Ankle Sprain". But, as mentioned....the cost factor.

 

Question for the ATC's....

 

In your opinion, is their a difference in the Turf and Court models of these braces? I'm using a turf model on a basketball player right now, and both of us are happy with the results.

 

The following is for all of the ATC's out there that read these posts. I got this from Sports Pickle.com

First Case of Low Ankle Sprain Since '74 Surfaces

 

The Centers for Disease Control announced today that the country’s first case of low ankle sprain since 1974 has been reported. The rare condition struck a male high school basketball player in Indiana.

 

“We are taking this case very seriously,” said CDC director Brian Patterson. “High ankle sprains are all we’ve seen for two decades. Every now and then we get a plain ankle sprain, but this is extremely rare. We have very few doctors with any experience in treating the non-high ankle sprain. We had thought low ankle sprains had been eradicated from the earth.”

 

The stricken boy is being quarantined at an undisclosed Indiana hospital until a decision is made on how to proceed. Patterson said it is too early to tell if there is a link between terrorism and the boy’s low ankle sprain, but that he is “very scared.”

 

 

The Turf model is a little less flexible than the court model giving greater support. I will say this, I have a girl that broke 3 ultra courts at the rivets...rubbed a hole from the friction and the rivets just fell out. Caused Breg to go back and look at that. I have not had the same problem with the Turf. I use the Turf post injury as well, getting great results.. Another benefit to the Ultra is very low ocurrence of blisters while breaking them in.

[PHargis]

The Turf model is a little less flexible than the court model giving greater support. I will say this, I have a girl that broke 3 ultra courts at the rivets...rubbed a hole from the friction and the rivets just fell out. Caused Breg to go back and look at that. I have not had the same problem with the Turf. I use the Turf post injury as well, getting great results.. Another benefit to the Ultra is very low ocurrence of blisters while breaking them in.

bump