It happened again yesterday. Was playing ball with the homies, and since we all don't have the same gym memberships we decided to play outdoors. I rolled my ankle on the same leg (left) coming down grabbing a rebound after landing on someone's foot. This is the same ankle I sprained pretty badly about 6 months ago playing ball indoors. After last time, I didn't play ball for about 4-5 months and spent as much time as I could RICE-ing & rehabbing my ankle. It never fully healed (though 80-90% recovery) and it'd occasionally flare up. But for the past 1-2 months I was able to play some great ball. Well then comes yesterday and this is the FIFTH time I've sprained my left ankle in life. I've sprained the right one at least 3 times also. What are my solutions? I realize I need to work more on balance exercises, strengthen my core, & work on my hip strength as well for stabilization. But what does this mean for the rest of my life - I want to be able to play ball for years and years to come. Am I screwed?
Have you gotten it looked at? There could be an issue that needs to be cleaned up inside. I mean, other than all the stuff you've listed (and wear a brace).
T - Got it looked at after the sprain 6 months ago. Doctor knows I had recurring injuries so we just opted for X-Ray as precaution. I think I want to do an MRI this time - is that what you mean? I can definitely see a need to "clean up" in there. I wear an ankle brace. Doesn't seem to be doing much...
I wear one of these on each ankle and put athletic tape around the top part of the ankle brace. I used to sprain my ankles all the time, even with the brace as well, started putting tape around it and the problem was eliminated completely.
When my friend suffered a horrific sprain he went for the sort of brace Doc is talking about. It did solve the problem for him.
I actually had this problem when I was in high school. Ran into a teammate and rolled my right ankle pretty severely. To the point where I literally could not walk on it. I guess it hadn't fully healed because several months later on a simple play it rolled again. I never got it looked at, (no insurance at the time) but it took me about a good year before it felt stable enough to where it didn't feel like it was going to give out again. But time and time again it would roll a little re-aggravating it. It's been 20 years and I don't have any issues with it now, but if you can get it looked at. Hopefully it's nothing serious that will affect you long term.
If I were to roll either of my ankles now, nothing would happen. I've done it so many times, they don't even swell anymore. My ankles don't give out, I'm not so sure I understand what you mean by that. If I sprain one, I just stretch it out and keep playing. No falling involved.
Well the reason I sprain my ankles (versus just rolling them) is because I land on someone's foot. Because there is an unstable surface under my ankle it gives and "turns" in a direction which stretches the ligaments where they aren't supposed to go. So if I were to use your brace and tape, would it prevent my ankle from "giving"? And then because it can't turn over I would instead lose my balance and fall, right?
Yea that's the point of the brace and tape, to keep it from doing that. You wouldn't fall as your foot would be in its normal position. Well at least I don't, if your balance sucks I guess you could fall.
Thinking of ankle sprains make me cringe... Landing on someone's foot is the worst. Chill, I hope you recover fast and can play again soon. What kind of shoes do you wear BTW?
I've sprained my ankle badly. The last time I did a major job on it I tore some ligaments in there. Here's the remedy: 1. You really, really need to work on your ankle strength. You need to do core work, balance exercises, jumping on one foot, etc. Message me for some really specific work that I did. It's the most important part. 2. Like Doc said you ALWAYS wear a brace now. A good one, spend the extra money on it because it's absolutely essential. Tape is good too if you're really bad. You cannot play any sport without wearing the brace now. It's just what you need to do. The one in Doc's picture is perfect. Wearing high tops is a good idea too. Not because the extra piece of material helps you, but with the brace it stabilizes your ankle a little better. I literally don't have one of the ligaments that keeps your ankle stable (left ankle), but thanks to the workouts and the braces I almost never twist my ankle anymore (knock on wood). Honestly I had no idea how bad my hips/balance were until I went through the workouts. Once I realized where I was with those parts of my fitness, I worked on it and it's a lot better now.
What kind of shoes do you wear and how do they fit? I've noticed a lot when I used to ball that it had to do a lot of what the fit and structure of the shoes. First, high tops. I know the low tops are all the rage nowadays, but you see even Kobe is starting to go back to the high tops. It provides that foot support from the top and around the ankles, much like a brace. Fit, shoes should not be too loose or overly tight. It will restrict your natural foot movements and it just increases the chances of injury. You have more control in a shoe that fits to a T. Skip the KD's, the Kobe's, the Lebron's, as sick as they look, if they do not fit well. Lastly, flexibility. Your feet need to move as if you don't have shoes on. Your sole needs to be able to flex, it needs to be light, and again, they need to conform to your foot. I had the Gen 1 Nike Hyperdunks and those were the best basketball shoes I've ever had. I'm critically in need of some new shoes myself, but I'm probably going to check out the newer Hyperdunks.
I've sprained my left ankle 4-5 times. I got it checked out and my Doc said I don't have any major damage to it. I've been using a Mcdavid lace up ankle brace with a strap. I also use the Adidas Speedwrap ankle brace. I agree with taping up your ankles before you use the brace for extra protection. It will feel weird at first and a little constricting but you will get used to it the more you do it.
Thanks everyone. Great info here. Definitely will incorporate tape. This is the brace I am using now, how does it compare to what Doc posted? I wear mid/high-tops. Currently I am using Nike HyperFuses (2014) but in the past I've used Nike Hyperenforcers. First started spraining ankles with Adidas Pro Models so I thought it was the Adidas curse. Then I had a bunch of freak injuries with the Nikes. Never gone with the lows -- as much as I am a Kobe fan and love the shoes they'd destroy my ankles. @BadCoaching what kind of inserts did your friend have? Very curious. @lakerfan2 What is your definition of optimal fit? I definitely err on the side of way too tight because I'm afraid any extra room in the shoe might cause my ankle to give if I land badly.
That looks like a level 2 type ankle brace. IIRC there are 3 levels of ankle braces. 1 - just a sleeve that goes over the ankle 2 - your ankle brace 3 - the one I showed you Just a lace up one will give you support, but if you're looking for maximum support I'd go with the one I showed you. It's worth the extra money.
Thanks @Doc Brown. Had no idea that model was considered level 3 with more protection. How can I identify a level 3 at my sports store? Is there a generic name for that kind of ankle brace? Or better yet do you have a link to the specific one you listed I could order online?
Type in ankle braces on Eastbay.com and you can find them there. I always just went with Level 1 - Sleeve Level 2 - lace up no straps Level 3 - lace up with straps You'll see a lot of college football and basketball players have that one as well.
@Chillbongo You definitely don't want it super tight either. That could restrict your ankle from rotating as it normally would and thus, you step weird and it sprains out of nowhere. My definition of "optimal fit" is like this: I like shoes that fit like socks. There's no extra room, but it's also comfortable and breathable enough to move around normally. In my own personal experience, I can tell when a shoe fits well when I frist try on shoes versus me just wanting it to fit because the shoe looks dope lol.
