Avoid Acute Ankle Sprains Via An Ankle Brace

By Bradley Fortin

Ankles are one of the most injury-prone joints in our body. Since they support our entire body weight, it is no wonder almost everyone active in sports would have experienced a rolled ankle. By performing routine exercises to build ankle strength, which can help avoid further sprains from occurring.

There are plenty of exercises created specifically for ankle strengthening and you will find them readily available in the sporting books section in your local library. If you have weak ankles, any sudden shift in your body weight could over-stretch the ligaments in your ankles, and it would take a long time to heal.

The most common ankle sprains are seen in sports that require sudden movements such as tennis. Other sports that require a lot of jumping can put strain on the lower leg as well and also increase the risks of ankle injury. Having strong ankles if you are into these type of sports is very important.

Ever notice how most professional athletes tape up their ankles just before a game? Ankle tape helps a lot by providing additional support to the lower foot, and as a result sprains are less likely. Taping your ankle is not as simple as it looks, so check with a sporting health professional first on the proper methods of foot taping.

The down sides to using ankle tapes is that the tape is not cheap and needs to be replaced ever so often. They need to be washed and dried after every use and this causes the tape to lose its effectiveness after a while as it tends to get stretched. There are alternative solutions to this though as we shall soon see.

Professional grade ankle braces are now available and although they're quite a lot more costly than tape, you'll never have to replace it. They are extremely comfortable to wear inside your shoe and don't take nearly as long as tape to put on. All you have to do is slip your foot in, strap it up tight, and put on your shoe and you're ready to go.

One of the best ankle supports available on the market is the ASO ankle stabilizer brace. It's light and strong and allows you to wear your sports shoes right over it without any discomfort. Another couple of brands to have a look at are McDavid and Aircast, if you're into serious sports or have suffered from an ankle injury in the past.

Ankle braces do provide you with the confidence and strength in your lower leg but remember that you cannot solely depend on this alone, as warm up, stretching and muscle strengthening have a big part to play in injury prevention as well. - 31983

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