The ankle is the number one injury in men’s and women’s high school and collegiate basketball. Regardless of how strong and conditioned an athlete is, it’s hard to prevent ankle injuries when you go up for a rebound and land on another player’s foot or you are cutting to the basket and accidentally step off another player’s shoe. Most of the time these ankle injuries occur when players make contact with each other and their ankle is forced to rotate inward excessively resulting in the classic inversion ankle sprain.

Inversion ankle sprains cause the ligaments in the joint to stretch, and sometimes tear, which can keep you on the bench anywhere for a few hours or up to a few weeks depending on the severity of the injury. Regardless of how long you abstain from activity to allow your ankle to heal, the ankle ligaments remain stretched to a certain degree making you more susceptible to future ankle injuries. With each ankle injury, the ligaments become more and more stretched out and cause your joint to become more unstable over time.

The best way to stop or slow down this cycle of ankle injuries is by wearing a preventative ankle brace. When it comes to determining the appropriate ankle brace for basketball players, it’s important to start by evaluating the position you play and then the injury history you have.

Common Basketball Ankle Injuries by Position

Forwards and Centers – These two positions are the most vulnerable for ankle injuries out of everyone on the court. During every possession, players in these positions are aggressively battling for rebounds creating the perfect situations for ankle injuries to occur. Because these are typically the biggest players on the court, jumping and landing in close proximity multiple times in a row, the resulting ankle injuries from landing on another player’s foot can occur with significant force. These types of ankle injuries can be the most severe in basketball.

Guards – This position is all about ball handling which means explosive cuts combined with significant acceleration/deceleration, creating extreme stress on ankle ligaments and tendons. When the load that is associated with these movements is greater than the ligament can tolerate, ankle injuries occur.

Evaluating Injury History

After learning which types of ankle injuries you might be most susceptible to as a basketball player in your specific position, choosing the right ankle brace for basketball is all about determining how much support you need versus how much mobility you want.

If you’ve had a previous ankle injury that is now healed and want to prevent future basketball ankle sprains, the preferred ankle brace would be a preventative one which could provide moderate stability and maximum mobility. However, if you currently have a severe ankle injury and want to return to competition as soon as possible, your ankle brace should provide maximum stability and minimal mobility. Typically, the types of ankle braces preferred in this situation are referred to as acute ankle injury braces.

Preventative Basketball Ankle Braces

There are three main types of preventive ankle braces available on the market today:

1. Lace-ups – Fabric based lace-up design with wrap around straps
2. Rigid – Semi-Rigid hinge design with attachment straps
3. Soft Shell – Flexible hinged-cuff design with attachment straps

Another injury prevention method that can be administered by sports medicine professionals, while not a type of brace, is ankle taping. Taping the ankle is the least effective way to support the ankle over the course of a practice or game. A tape job will lose most of its support in the first 15-20 minutes of vigorous exercise. For that reason, we are only going to compare the three preventative ankle brace types below and omit the option of ankle taping.

Lace-Up Ankle Braces

Lace-up ankle braces were first introduced in 1887 as a basic corset design that restricts all ankle range of motion. Lace-up braces of today will typically have straps that wrap around the ankle in a figure-8.

Since these braces can be laced up as tight as possible, they may give the wearer a false sense of support when they are first applied, however they lose support quickly as they resist the ankle’s natural range of motion. This is especially detrimental in basketball where explosive cuts and vertical power are needed to outplay your opponent. Research studies have shown that lace-up ankle braces can restrict performance by resisting the natural up and down range of motion of the ankle. This is one reason why we recommend athletes wear a hinged ankle brace for prevention purposes – this way the ankle does not weaken over time due to being held tightly in place. While all hinged ankle braces are not the same, they do provide the necessary range of motion to enhance ankle strength and performance unlike the lace-up type braces.

Overall, the lace-up ankle brace is designed for individuals on a budget needing mild ankle support that are not engaging in competitive and/or high intensity activity. Some of the better brands in this category are McDavid®, ShockDoctor®, and ASO®.

Rigid Ankle Braces

Rigid, or semi-rigid ankle braces are made of hard plastic and typically have a hinge that allows full up and down ankle range of motion.  The rigid hinged ankle brace was first introduced commercially in 1985. A pivoting hinge connecting the bottom foot section on both sides of the ankle to an upright section that was secured with a strap to the lower leg.  The innovative hinge design offered the athlete free up and down ankle motion to run and jump without restriction. With the brace moving with the ankle, and not against it like with lace-ups, the brace stays securely in place maintaining longer-lasting ankle support.

Typically, these types of braces are only worn for a limited period of time for a couple of reasons: 1) Since the brace is rigid or semi-rigid it can be bulky to wear, and trying to fit the brace in a tight-fitting basketball shoe can be difficult and/or 2) The more rigid the ankle brace is the more uncomfortable it can be to wear for extended periods of time.

Hinged ankle braces are good for individuals looking for moderate ankle support to help protect or prevent the basic “low” ankle sprain or inversion (turning) ankle injury. Brands in this category are Active Ankle® and McDavid®.

Soft Shell Ankle Braces

The newest type of ankle brace to hit the market is the “soft shell” design, trademarked Performathane®.  The shell of the brace is flexible and uses body heat to custom-fit to the ankle. This custom-fit creates a very comfortable and low-profile ankle brace that is easy to fit in a basketball shoe and worn for extended periods of time. The concept behind the flexible shell is to get as close to the skin as possible and by doing so you can control excessive joint motion more effectively while still allowing for a little side to side natural range of motion.

Performathane® based ankle braces utilize the most advanced hinged-cuff designs on the market and are the first ever ankle braces designed for maximum performance. Where hinged-only braces restrict excessive ankle turning, the hinged-cuff design restricts excessive ankle turning and twisting to help prevent both low and high ankle injuries. Hinged-cuff ankle braces offer a higher level of protection than either the lace-up or hinged only ankle brace designs can provide.

The soft shell ankle brace is best for basketball players who want to help prevent ankle injuries or players with mild/moderate ankle instability. The Performathane® soft shell is extremely durable and will last multiple sports seasons.

Acute Ankle Injury Braces

When bracing an acute ankle injury, the brace needs to provide significant lower leg and ankle stability while unloading the ankle to reduce weight bearing pain. “Unloading” is the process of reducing the load, or impact to the sore ankle or at least reducing the load enough so the athlete can play with minimal or no pain. The Ultra CTS is the only ankle brace that is specifically designed to brace acute ankle injuries for return to competition using a hinged-cuff design that restricts excessive ankle turning (“inversion”) and twisting (“rotation”) to help prevent and protect both high ankle low ankle injuries.

If you, or your child, is a basketball player with a history of ankle injuries or you are learning more about how to protect yourself from basketball ankle sprains and you have any questions please send our certified athletic trainers a message or leave a comment below.