Ankle brace while skating?

[erdehoff]

I broke my right ankle three years ago while tramolining, and it's still kind of weak. It's my landing foot. Today I tweaked it on a waltz/loop combination, and it's still a little sore. Loop combinations in particular seem to trigger it.

This seems to happen every few months, and I'm thinking I might want to start taping it or wearing a brace or something. Does anyone have advice on what kind of support I should look for -- tape, Ace bandage, one of those elastic brace thingies? I see kids at the rink taping their ankles with athletic tape, but I'm not sure if that's for a similar problem.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

[IceDreams]

Last September I sprained a ligament in my right (landing) ankle and also injured my knee on a double axel fall and was off the ice for a good six weeks. After that it was still very sensitive, and both injuries didn't entirely heal for many months. My physical therapist ordered a special ankle support for my first few weeks back on the ice, which really helped. It had the construction similar to a sock only without the toe and heel. The "sock" fit snugly, and had two wide elastic straps with velcro attached on the bottom of my foot. I had to bring them around the top of my foot and criss cross them, then wrap them around my ankle and secure the velcro. It really helped hold my ankle in place, and was not too excessively bulky that I couldn't skate with it (I just laced my skates a little looser). I wore it for probably a month until I felt comfortable with all of my doubles before skating without it.

I couldn't find a site with my exact brace, but the link below is quite similar. Don't be scared off by the price - you can find the same thing on other websites much cheaper. I believe mine was only around $12 or $15.

http://supports4less.com/donjoy/anklebraces/wraparound-anklesupport.htm

I think you would be much happier with this versus taping. With taping, you may want to seek advice from a PT or trainer to make sure you are doing it correctly so that it will be effective. It seems as though it would be a hassle to tape it everytime you skate though.

Good luck, and let me know if it works out for you!

[NickiT]

I suffered a nasty ankle fracture just over three years ago when I fell badly on the ice. I had surgery to repair it and now have a metal plate and screws in place. I understand about your fear of weakness because I have the same fears, however although the screws cause me occasional pain while I skate, I tend to "rely" on the extra metalwork as a bit of support for my ankle. Having said that, I did do a lot of physiotherapy after the cast came off and got back to skating three months later despite being told I should take a good six months off the ice. I believe that good ankle exercises are the best thing to do to strengthen the ankle and included in this is skating. It was also my landing ankle so I had get over the fear when starting to do jumps and even now if I have pain I refrain from doing loops, flips and lutzes - the jumps that I feel put the most pressure on my ankle.

Going back to your question I wouldn't recommend long term use of a support as I think that in the long run they have a negative effect (your ankle becomes weaker because it gets used to having the extra support). I also believe that if you have decent boots you'll have a good amount of support in those. However on the odd occasion that I've sprained my ankle or aggravated it, I've resorted to a elasticated sports support for my ankle.

Good luck and keep up with the skating.

Nicki

[erdehoff]

Thanks for the replies, guys. When you do wear the elasticized braces, do you guys wear them over or under your tights?

[flo]

I'd also like to use one once in a while, but am having a difficult time finding one thin enough to go in the skate. I think I'm going to look at the ones used for diabetics. Less support, but very thin.

[NickiT]

Originally posted by erdehoff
Thanks for the replies, guys. When you do wear the elasticized braces, do you guys wear them over or under your tights?

I wear it under my tights!

Nicki

[IceDreams]

I wore mine over my tights. I would just slip it on once I got to the rink. It might feel a bit bulky at first since you're not used to it, but just make sure you tie your laces accordingly and you should be able to adjust to it. Don't tie them too tightly or your foot will fall asleep!

[flippet]

I think that ACE makes an elastic ankle brace--at least, I think that's the brand I have. I just wore it over my nylons (I don't usually wear tights). It's all one piece, not a 'wrap', and it fits pretty well in the boot. I only had a couple of 'lines' where the edges were.

I found that what triggered my ankle pain was actually broken-down boots. They looked and functioned just fine, or so I thought, but they were really past their useful life. The brace helped until I could get new boots. (I didn't connect it until it happened a second time, then realized it was the boots causing it.)

[sk8clean]

I have problem with both of my ankles. The most recent injury was 7 months ago. I feel down the steps and sprained my ankle. I was silly and skated in a competition only 3 weeks later. Not smart at all! I have found good boots give my ankles enough support. When the ankles start hurting really bad all the time from skating its time for new skates. I have also learned to use common sense. If the ankle is really bothering me on the ice I go home. This was hard for me to learn because if I go to the rink for an hour its hard for me to get off the ice after only 30 minutes, but in the long run it pays off.