Ask Dr. Joe!
Should volleyball players wear ankle braces?
We asked Leaside Volleyball Club’s sports injury consultant, Dr. Joe Kottoor.
I get this question a lot- from volleyball coaches, players, sports medicine colleagues and trainers. Ankle sprains are the most common acute injuries in indoor volleyball. Depending on the severity, downtime can be a few weeks to season ending. So, let’s go over some facts and myths.
What does the scientific evidence say?
The answer is ...it depends, but for most competitive Leaside volleyball players, I would highly recommend using a good quality ankle brace (unless you are a libero only and/or you are not playing at a level where there can be contact under the net between spiker and blocker).
Throughout my tenure as a competitive volleyball player, and particularly throughout my career as a sports injury and rehabilitation specialist, I have seen hundreds of ankle sprains, of all different types and degrees of severity. Factors relevant to the decision to wear an ankle brace include the type of brace, age of the athlete, type of shoe, level of competition, previous ankle sprains and medical history of the athlete. Generally speaking, an ankle brace can help to decrease the severity of a sprain ... a twist that would normally have caused a grade 3 sprain will often be reduced to a grade 2 sprain. Even better, an ankle brace may preclude the mildest grade 1 sprain from happening at all.
Do ankle braces weaken your leg muscles?
There’s absolutely no evidence that wearing an ankle brace for just volleyball (NOT 24 hours/day, 7 days/week) will weaken the muscles around your ankle or leg… That being said, it is very important to strengthen your ankle, leg, thigh, hip and core muscles and do proprioceptive exercises (through the diligent use of a wobble board, Bosu ball or the like) to keep your muscles strong and further decrease the risk of ankle sprains.
Will wearing ankle braces make my knee more susceptible to injury?
The type of ankle brace is important...any ankle brace that really “locks” the ankle joint and is very stiff (high lace up rigid brace) can possibly transfer forces and loads up the biomechanical chain to the knee and increase injury risk. The braces I recommend to volleyball players most often are the ‘ASO’ and / or ‘Active Ankle’ brands. Using these braces will not increase any injury risk to the knee.
Is taping better than an ankle brace?
If the taping is done properly, it works well but the effectiveness only lasts about 20-30 minutes depending on sweat and loading.
If you’ve had a serious ankle injury in the past, have ‘weak’ ankles or a history of multiple ankle sprains, a customized rehabilitation and strengthening program is highly recommended from a sports/rehabilitation specialist doctor.
Dr Joe is the owner of Dr Kottoor & Associates. The clinic is the provider of diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and prevention of sports injuries for the Leaside volleyball club.
We asked Leaside Volleyball Club’s sports injury consultant, Dr. Joe Kottoor.
I get this question a lot- from volleyball coaches, players, sports medicine colleagues and trainers. Ankle sprains are the most common acute injuries in indoor volleyball. Depending on the severity, downtime can be a few weeks to season ending. So, let’s go over some facts and myths.
What does the scientific evidence say?
The answer is ...it depends, but for most competitive Leaside volleyball players, I would highly recommend using a good quality ankle brace (unless you are a libero only and/or you are not playing at a level where there can be contact under the net between spiker and blocker).
Throughout my tenure as a competitive volleyball player, and particularly throughout my career as a sports injury and rehabilitation specialist, I have seen hundreds of ankle sprains, of all different types and degrees of severity. Factors relevant to the decision to wear an ankle brace include the type of brace, age of the athlete, type of shoe, level of competition, previous ankle sprains and medical history of the athlete. Generally speaking, an ankle brace can help to decrease the severity of a sprain ... a twist that would normally have caused a grade 3 sprain will often be reduced to a grade 2 sprain. Even better, an ankle brace may preclude the mildest grade 1 sprain from happening at all.
Do ankle braces weaken your leg muscles?
There’s absolutely no evidence that wearing an ankle brace for just volleyball (NOT 24 hours/day, 7 days/week) will weaken the muscles around your ankle or leg… That being said, it is very important to strengthen your ankle, leg, thigh, hip and core muscles and do proprioceptive exercises (through the diligent use of a wobble board, Bosu ball or the like) to keep your muscles strong and further decrease the risk of ankle sprains.
Will wearing ankle braces make my knee more susceptible to injury?
The type of ankle brace is important...any ankle brace that really “locks” the ankle joint and is very stiff (high lace up rigid brace) can possibly transfer forces and loads up the biomechanical chain to the knee and increase injury risk. The braces I recommend to volleyball players most often are the ‘ASO’ and / or ‘Active Ankle’ brands. Using these braces will not increase any injury risk to the knee.
Is taping better than an ankle brace?
If the taping is done properly, it works well but the effectiveness only lasts about 20-30 minutes depending on sweat and loading.
If you’ve had a serious ankle injury in the past, have ‘weak’ ankles or a history of multiple ankle sprains, a customized rehabilitation and strengthening program is highly recommended from a sports/rehabilitation specialist doctor.
Dr Joe is the owner of Dr Kottoor & Associates. The clinic is the provider of diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and prevention of sports injuries for the Leaside volleyball club.
Contact Dr. Kottoor & Associates today!
[email protected] or 416-829-2017 and visit their website at www.drkottoor.com
[email protected] or 416-829-2017 and visit their website at www.drkottoor.com