charlie or others,
since hearing charlies views on ankle taping i have stayed away from it totally, but as football is fast and violent in COD sometimes strong ankles arent enough to keep sprains away. i was wondering if lace up ankle supports allow for enough movement of the ankle to keep all forces off the knee, and also which brand would be recommended.
thanks
I think it’s entirely individual and position related, so I wouldn’t want to make a blanket statement but many NFL guys are now playing without. As you know, it was once mandatory to be taped at practice as well as games but now you can go without- but, if you get hurt, you get fined. Many accept that condition.
Charlie,
what are your views on ankle taping that ESPN3 is refering to?
Regarding ankle taping. At the school i was at Last year Pac-10 and this year ACC all guys on our team were “required” to have their ankles taped for all practices and games or wear braces. All O-lineman had to wear knee braces also. Personally, i feel the taping is a good thing at the very least it can limit the severity of a ankle injury.
i agree charlie, but would a lace up brace place the same stress on the knee as taping would? thanks
The fundamental concept here is that if you provide extra support for the ankle, then if there is a stress on the leg, that support will transfer it to other structures in the leg (such as the knee.) So, the answer to the lace-up ankle support question is: yes, to the extent that it provides support for the ankle, it will also have potential to transfer stress to the knee.
If the lace ip support provides less protection to the ankle, then there is less transfer, but any mechanism that provides support also has the potential to transfer forces to the knee.
I think that pretty much covers it but I suspect that the lace-up support allows more straight ahead motion, reducing the risk of hamstring injuries.
When Al Vermeil - a good friend of Charlie’s - was in town for a seminar, he said that the effectiveness of taping (in terms of support) actually decreases significantly after about 5-10 minutes of activity, as the tape adhesive slips and the tape itself stretches.
Your right, the tape does loosen up after a few minutes. I always liked to tape the outside of my cleats before games. Some guys call it “spat” which is just for looks, but i would have our AT just put a few tight strips around the cleat and I always felt pretty secure.
On a side note, i played in 41 college games and all the practices that came along with it at Wide reciever. I never once in all the games and practices i was in sprained an ankle. A month ago i was walking down the stairs, slipped off a step and whammo, grade 3 sprain. You just never know sometimes!!!
Many of ankle braces available are too bulky for the lightweight, close-fitting cleats many players where today. Unless you get free shoes every week, I’ve seen shoes stretch out and break down quickly. Even faster in wet weather.
Get taped to prevent extreme inversion and eversion. Ask the athletic trainer to “tape it short”, meaning keep the tape back on the anterior ankle region and not down the foot. Ask him/her not to put heel locks and figure 8’s on and you should have plenty of dorsi and plantar flexion.
number two, perhaps with pre-wrap in the rain. A tape job done right prevents the joint from extreme ROM’s for the whole game/practice.
I’ve never seen an ankle braced/taped so tight it caused a knee injury.
What where they playing in…a ski boot?
I would definitely use a lace-up brace rather than taping for two reasons.
Firstly, the different tape jobs that you receive throughout the season will throw your proprioception off, whereas if you use a lace-up brace you will be used to the support.
Secondly, with a lace-up brace you don’t need someone to tape you and you can practice on your own.
Charlie I could be wrong but did you mention something about an Al Vermeil article on taping or something along those lines some time ago?
Yes, it was Al who got me thinking about it when he argued this point in 1981, when he was the S and C coach for the Super Bowl SF 49ers.
This is true, maybe not so soon, if taped properly, but many athletes have to be taped more than once in a game to have sustaining-throughout-support.
Yes, if someone has that link, I would love to read it, I don’t remember coming across it. thanks