Do ankle braces weaken ankles

As a seasoned athletic trainer with over three decades of experience and 15+ patents in ankle brace design, I frequently get asked – “Do ankle braces weaken the ankle?” Especially in sports like volleyball, basketball, and football, where ankle injuries are prevalent, players wear ankle braces during games and practices to prevent sprains or reduce severity if an injury occurs. This common practice has led parents, coaches, and players to question the potential negative impact on ankle strength.

Understanding The Ways to Weaken A Joint

There are only two ways to weaken a joint and its supporting muscles:

  1. Non-usage of the joint: Typically observed post-surgery, when muscles atrophy due to non-use.
  2. Restricting joint range of motion: If a joint is restricted or bound up, preventing full range of motion, muscle weakening may occur.

Since athletes frequently use and strengthen their joints through drills and conditioning exercises, the primary concern is the potential weakening of the ankle by restricting its normal range of motion.

 

Do Any Ankle Braces Restrict Joint Range of Motion?

Unfortunately, yes. The lace-up (or corset style) brace restricts much of the ankle joint range of motion, including the essential up and down ankle motion needed for running and jumping. This restriction is due to the binding of laces and/or tight wraparound Velcro straps. A recent university study found that lace-ups significantly decreased ankle joint range of motion and isokinetic measures of muscle torque, total work, and power. In simpler terms, the lace-up brace adversely affects ankle range of motion and strength.

 

Are There Ankle Braces That Do Not Weaken The Ankle?

Fortunately, yes. Hinged ankle braces, which allow full unrestricted up and down ankle range of motion, do not weaken the ankle. These braces have hinges on each side of the ankle bone, allowing the brace to move with the ankle, unlike lace-ups that move against it. This synchronized movement ensures that any straps stay securely in place, maintaining long-lasting ankle support.

There are two commonly used styles of hinged ankle braces by athletes – hinged and hinged-cuff. The ‘hinged only’ braces, introduced in 1989, primarily restrict excessive ankle turning or “inversion.” Popular brands include Active Ankle, McDavid, and Shock Doctor.

On the other hand, ‘hinged-cuff’ ankle braces, like the Ultra Zoom®, restrict not only excessive ankle turning (“inversion”) but also rotational twisting, helping prevent both high and low ankle sprains. Brands of hinged-cuff ankle braces include Ultra Ankle, Don Joy, and Ossur.

 

Conclusion

While some ankle braces, like the lace-up style, can restrict joint range of motion and subsequently weaken the ankle, hinged and hinged-cuff ankle braces do not have this negative impact. However, if you want to prevent ankle injuries, I do suggest wearing and ankle brace of some kind. Please note, neoprene sleeves are not ankle braces and provide zero support.

If you have more questions about ankle braces and their effects on ankle strength, feel free to leave a comment below or send us a message. We are here to help!

Ultra Zoom

Help prevent ankle injuries all season long.

Ultra High-5

Reinforce the ankle after a history of multiple ankle injuries

Ultra CTS

Maximize stabilization to treat acute ankle injuries

While wearing an ankle brace to prevent ankle injuries may seem like common sense to some athletes, many participants of sports with a high incidence of ankle injuries still don’t find the value in wearing a preventative ankle brace.

Since there are an estimated 25,000 ankle sprains every day in the United States, we wanted to create an infographic that illustrated what that number means in the variety of sports that have athletes that wear preventative ankle bracing.

Recapping Important Facts About Ankle Sprains

  • In the U.S. an estimated 25,000 ankle sprains occur per day.
  • 45% of HS volleyball players will injure their ankle during the sports season.
  • 70% of varsity basketball players have suffered at least one ankle sprain.
  • 85% of youth soccer injuries are recorded as ankle sprains.
  • After spraining an ankle you are 70% more likely to re-sprain your ankle.
  • Lace-up braces were invented before modern sports while the Ultra Zoom was specifically designed for modern sports.

Ultra Zoom

Help prevent ankle injuries all season long.

Ultra High-5

Reinforce the ankle after a history of multiple ankle injuries

Ultra CTS

Maximize stabilization to treat acute ankle injuries

Even though they aren’t the most common ankle issue, acute ankle injuries tend to be discussed more among athletic trainers and sports medicine professionals since they can be the most damaging to an athlete and their career. But what about the most common, less-discussed ankle issue that is prevalent among today’s athletes both young and old? I’m talking about non-acute mild/moderate ankle instability.

Let’s say an athlete has a brief history of previous ligament injuries to the same ankle and they play a sport with a high incidence of ankle injuries, like basketball or volleyball. One goal as an athletic trainer would be to stop the cycle of ankle injury to prevent more severe problems down the road – but what are the best injury prevention methods for mild/moderate ankle instability?

After an ankle injury occurs, the standard next step for most athletic trainers is to implement a rehabilitation program customized to the injured athlete’s specific needs. Though stretching, strength-building, and proprioception exercises help to heal the ankle, it’s never back to 100% because the damaged ligament has lost some of its integrity (tightness) making reoccurring ankle injuries a distinct possibility. For that reason alone, it’s important to prevent ankle injuries before they even occur.

While we would love to share with you a long list of proven ways to prevent ankle injuries, the truth is that bracing the ankle joint is the most effective treatment method available. Once a rehab program is complete what is to stop a volleyball player from landing on another person’s shoe during a jump? A football player from being tackled and falling at the wrong angle? A basketball player from grabbing a rebound and landing on another player? It’s a split second movement that no amount of ankle strengthening can prevent.

With the goal of preventing another ankle injury in mind, the best treatment method for managing mild/moderate ankle instability is to brace the ankle. Bracing is going to provide more support than tape and for a longer period of time. Since we are not focusing on chronic ankle instability, the brace need not be super rigid and restrictive but instead be a lightweight, low-profile ankle brace that is comfortable to wear over long periods of time. A comfortable, long-lasting ankle brace would be the most effective method of treating mild/moderate ankle instability without restricting athletic performance.

If you’ve worked with athletes with mild/moderate ankle instability in the past, what are some of your go-to treatment and rehabilitation options? What methods do you feel have worked best and why? Let us know on our Facebook page, share with us on Twitter, or send us a message on our website.

Ultra Zoom

Help prevent ankle injuries all season long.

Ultra High-5

Reinforce the ankle after a history of multiple ankle injuries

Ultra CTS

Maximize stabilization to treat acute ankle injuries

Here’s the scenario: a player goes down with an ankle injury. The athletic trainer brings the player back to the sidelines, takes off his or her shoe and sock and begins to tape the injured ankle.  After a roll of tape the player hops off the taping table to give it a try but is still hobbling around, unable to tolerate the pain.  Why? You just put the best tape job of your life on that ankle, it should be stable. Here’s the thing, it’s not the ankle instability that is causing the pain, it’s the impact. Tape alone cannot reduce weight-bearing impact. So what options do have to reduce impact – and the pain associated with it, thus allowing the player to return quickly, safely and relatively pain free to competition?

Reducing painful weight-bearing impact from acute ankle injury is the key to a quick return to activity. Tape can’t reduce ankle impact, lace-ups can’t reduce impact, any ankle brace that has a soft bottom or open heel section can’t reduce impact. You must use an ankle brace that “unloads” the ankle to reduce painful weight-bearing impact. Unloading means the ankle brace is absorbing the impact or energy, not the sore ankle.

To achieve maximum ankle unloading, the ankle brace must be made with a semi-rigid resin having a hinged cuff U-shaped design. The hinge is important because it allows the ankle brace to move with the ankle, staying securely in place maintaining long-lasting support. The cuff which wraps around the posterior lower leg is extremely important because it absorbs the impact and transfers that impact/energy to the lower leg. This technology is efficient in ankle unloading because it creates significant stabilization and support due to the U-shape semi-rigid design in both the vertical and horizontal planes.

At Ultra Ankle® we have developed two ankle bracing technologies that will unload the ankle. The Ultra High-5® is a hinged-cuff design that is recommended for chronic ankle instability and reoccurring joint pain. The Ultra CTS® is a hinged-cuff detachable shell design that is recommended for acute ankle injury treatment and rehabilitation. The Ultra CTS® provides maximum lower leg compression and stabilization with significant ankle unloading to reduce weight bearing pain. The Ultra CTS® is the ankle brace every athletic trainer should have available on game day.

Ultra Zoom

Help prevent ankle injuries all season long.

Ultra High-5

Reinforce the ankle after a history of multiple ankle injuries

Ultra CTS

Maximize stabilization to treat acute ankle injuries