Athletic taping is a common practice used to help athletes who had previous injuries to help support and stabilize the joint to help prevent motion in order to prevent re-injury. This trend has been used for decades to control ankle mobility.
Does athletic tape or ankle braces make the ankles weaker?
I have had patients ask this question especially during this time of year with basketball season in full swing. Ankle sprains, particularly inversion sprains, are a very common injury seen in contact sports such as basketball, volleyball, and football. After suffering, an ankle sprain, patients will undergo a physical exam, x-rays, and in some cases have an MRI to evaluate the extent of the bony and soft tissue damage.
I often hear from parents that they hear from others, without medical knowledge, that taping the ankles or bracing the ankles can ultimately weaken the ankles. They question themselves whether they are doing more harm than good for their children by letting the athletic trainers tape them before practice and games.
You'll see numerous athletes in various sports, at all different levels from grade school to professional teams with some form of athletic tape whether it be on their upper or lower extremities.
Once an soft tissue injury occurs, such as in an ankle sprain, the soft tissue ligaments around the ankle joint get over stretched and in some cases torn, partially or fully. Once a person sprain their ankle, they are highly at risk for re-injury due to ligament laxity and instability around the joint.
In cases of more severe damage to the ligamentous structures, fractures or cartilage damage, surgery is often needed.
Depending on the severity of the ankle sprain, and the patients physical condition, it could take anywhere from 2 to 12 weeks for an ankle sprain to fully heal. It is important during that timeframe that the patient immobilizes the ankle, and in some cases patients will need to be non-weight-bearing with crutches, rest, ice, elevate, compress, take anti inflammatories, and refrain from any strenuous activity to allow the inflammation and swelling to resolve and the soft tissues to heal.
Once the ankle sprain has healed, it is important to keep the ankle protected
stabilized, and reduce the chances of re-injury. This can be achieved by using ankle braces or athletic tape. Physical therapy is also often initiated after a sprain to help the patient regain strength, motion, and mobility.
I tell the parents that research has shown that there is no evidence that taping or bracing the previously injured ankle joint will make it weaker or cause any other injuries above the ankle joint.
In fact, taping or bracing a previously injured ankle helps provide more support, stability and protection around the ankle joint. It is, however recommended to only tape or brace during practice and games for up to 2 to 3 hours. It is not recommended or necessary to wear the brace or tape 24 hours a day.
A research study about this topic was published in the National Library of Medicine on April 29, 2022.
The title of the article is - “Is Kinesio taping, effective for sport performance and ankle function of athletes with chronic ankle instability? Systematic review and meta-analysis. “ Authors, Carlo Biz, Pietro Nicoletti, Matteo Tomasin, Nicola Luigi Bragazzi,, Giuseppe, Di Rubbi and Pietro Ruggieri.
They did a variety of tests and looked at numerous parameters, but I’m going to report on the ones that are specific to this topic.
They found in the meta-analysis that it “showed a significant improvement, particularly on the following: gait functions (step velocity, step and stride length and reduction in the base of support and dynamics); reduction in the joint range of motion in inversion-eversion ; decrease in the muscle activation of the peroneus longus; decrease in the postural sway in movement in the mid-lateral direction. There was an increase in stabilization of the ankle joint of the athletes during sports performance, and they concluded that taping has a moderate stabilizing effect on the ankles of athletes of the most popular contact sports with a history of chronic ankle instability.
Research also has in fact, showed that proprioception actually has improved increased using athletic/ kinesiology tape.
So next time you find yourself with a patient with these concerns, you can confidently ensure them that taping or bracing the previously injured ankle will infect provide stability, support, increase proprioception, and most importantly, help prevent re-injury.
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ankle injury
taping ankles
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