Ankle Support

Popular in the United States of America for over a century, basketball continues to grow in popularity in Europe and the UK.

With its combination of jumping, stopping and running on a hard floor, basketball is a great spectator sport but it really does take its toll on the feet and ankles of its players.

In basketball, extreme pressure is exerted on the foot and ankle.

The ankle is a highly vulnerable joint, accounting for about a third of all sports injuries. So it is vital to pay special attention to ankle support and how to avoid suffering from an ankle injury.

With proper equipment and preparation, as well as the correct use of ankle supports, it is possible to minimise sports injuries and focus on continued excellence in your sport.

There are two main kinds of sports injuries experienced in basketball. The first is an injury from a sudden blow and the other is chronic injury which becomes worse over a period of time.

Acute sports injuries in basketball are most often from landing badly or twisting while falling, perhaps after a mid-air collision. The most common are torn ligaments, ankle sprains, ankle inversions, muscle pulls, tendon ruptures and fractures. The anterior talo-fibular (ATF) ligament is especially prone to sports injury.

Chronic, or overuse injuries, can be caused by insufficient warm up, poorly fitting or incorrect footwear, or a biomechanical deformity that means there is simply too much stress on the foot or ankle. Chronic sports injuries commonly occurring in basketball include stress fractures, tendinitis and Achilles heel.

For injury prevention, indoor wood courts are the safest to play on as they provide most shock absorption while outdoor courts of asphalt or concrete are the most likely to result in ankle injuries.
But, whether you are playing indoors or out, there are many things you can do to help injury prevention.

Firstly, gradual warm up and stretching exercises before vigorous play really do help and should be an essential part of your sports regime.

Also, it cannot be stressed enough how it is vital to wear the right shoes. Shoes should be designed for basketball, with plenty of ankle support and shock absorption. Some high topped shoes provide more ankle support than others.

Of course, in the unfortunate event of an acute sports injury, you must stop immediately and apply first aid.

In the case of a chronic sports injury, you should reduce activity in accordance with how severe the pain is. Some chronic pain is due to a biomechanical abnormality that is resulting in too much strain on a particular part of the foot or ankle.

These can often be corrected by prescription shoe inserts, strengthening exercises or the use of an ankle support or ankle brace.

Basketball is a very demanding sport and it does place heavy demands on the foot and ankle, with accompanying risk of sports injury.

But with the wealth of expertise and sports first aid, ankle supports and rehabilitation products available today, there is no reason why you should not be able to minimize the risks of sports injuries and continue to enjoy your sport.