Ankle braces or not, that is the question: Part 3

The decision to wear ankle braces has, for the most part, been a personal choice not driven by any proof that they actually prevent injuries. That is until now. The American Journal of Sports Medicine (February 2008) has reported that ankle braces definitely do prevent ankle injuries.

“There were 797 ankle injuries during 811,710 NCAA practices or games from 1988 to 2005, translating to an injury rate of 0.98 for every 1,000 exposures. For the Penn players, there was just a single ankle injury during 13,500 games or practices during those seven seasons, for an injury rate of 0.07 per 1,000 exposures. Nearly half of the 132 Penn players in the study had suffered ankle injuries before starting to play college volleyball, Sennett and his team note.”

Go here to read the entire article.

Ankle braces or not, that is the question: Part 1
Ankle braces or not, that is the question: Part 2

Ankle braces or not, that is the question: Part 2

The ASO (Ankle Stabilizing Orthosis) is the ankle brace I wear when I play volleyball. I like it because it doesn’t just provide support to the outsides of your ankles, it provides support for your entire ankle, which increases injury prevention. It is also great for rehabilitation because you can add and remove the plastic supports in the brace, allowing you to control how much support the brace gives you during your rehabilitation process. It is a reasonably priced ankle orthosis that gives you maximum support!

Check out the ASO website here!

Ankle braces or not, that is the question: Part 1
Ankle braces or not, that is the question: Part 3

Ankle braces or not, that is the question: Part 1

Many volleyball players wear ankle braces to protect themselves from an injury or a re-injury. A common thought among those that do not wear ankle braces or those who only wear them during rehab is that bracing weakens your ankles. I’m here to tell you that ankle braces do not weaken your ankles.

Dave Jones, who plays for VC Leipzig e.V. in Germany and who posts at Volleyball Base, dug into this question a little bit further and found “that bracing will actually work to enhance your proprioceptive input [sensory feedback for muscle control] , not override it”(Volleyball Base, Jan. 14, 2008).If you still aren’t convinced that ankle braces do not weaken your ankles, check out Dave’s complete article (cited sources intact) here.

Ankle braces or not, that is the question: Part 2
Ankle braces or not, that is the question: Part 3