Ankle sprains are one of the most frequent injuries that occur in athletes. The inversion ankle sprain is where the foot goes inward and is the classic rolling of the ankle. Prevention of this type of injury in athletes that have a tendency to roll their ankle has been a large debate. To tape or not to tape has been the question. Taping vs. prefabricated bracing has been researched on both the efficacy and the cost of each. It has been shown that both can reduce the risk of recurrent ankle sprains. It also has been shown that taping and bracing does help to strengthen the ankle and also improve the proprioception. Proprioception is the body’s ability to detect where it is in space, which is often damaged with a sprain, which leads to recurrent sprains.
Taping has been shown to reduce the risk of ankle sprains in the athlete that is prone to the inversion ankle injury. There are several issues with taping though. Some athletes develop irritation from the taping. There are variations in the person taping. The tape has also been shown to loose its efficacy in as soon as 10 – 30 minutes. Taping can also be more costly as you add up the cost of the tape on a regular basis and the time of the person taping. The cost of one roll of tape is on average $1.40, which is needed for one ankle plus the cost of pretape, lubricant and the person taping, it can cost over a thousand dollars per athlete per season. Taping does work very well but the cost and loss of strength has been points to advocate the use of a prefabricated brace. Taping can also not be adjusted by the athlete.
Bracing has also been shown to decrease the risk of ankle sprains. Ankle braces are prefabricated and not being custom to each athlete may cause some irritation to certain patients. The ankle brace can be adjusted by the individual athlete during the course of the game or practice, which cannot be done with the tape. The cost of the brace is anywhere from $35-$100 which is significantly less than the cost of the tape.
Overall both taping and bracing are both effective ways of reducing ankle sprains. Bracing is a more cost effective way of reducing the ankle sprain and since there is no learning curve, it is always applied properly and can be adjusted by the athlete his or herself.
By Dr. Alison DeWaters
Tags: Alison DeWaters, ankle, ankle pain, ankle sprain, Ankle Sprains, athlete, athletes, Dr. Dewaters, feet pain, foot, foot injuries, foot injury, foot pain, runner, runners, sports, sports injuries, swollen foot
