High Ankle Sprains:
Active Ankle can help!
High ankle sprains are bad news. They’re painful, and take quite awhile to heal. But Cramer’s Active Ankle braces help athletes get back into play after recovering from a syndesmotic ligament sprain–and can help minimize the sprain from occurring.Greg Collins, ATC, head athletic trainer at Wake Forest University, says he has success with the T1 Active Ankle when athletes recovering from a high ankle sprain are ready to return to the game. “The high ankle sprain recovery process is difficult, and it’s wise to be conservative,” he says. “If the athlete returns too soon, the ankle can continue to swell and be painful and the athlete won’t be able to perform.”"When a student is finally recovered to the point that they can participate again I want to do everything I can to protect the ankle. Taping has some benefit initially, but the T1 pulls the bones together and takes the stress off of the syndesmosis joint.”"I use the T-1 brace in combination with a three-quarter length orthodic,” Greg says. “The brace sits on the insole of the shoe, and the straps across the lower leg enhances stabilization to the syndesmosis joint while still allowing for movement. I have them wear it for the remainder of the season.”

Dwayne Treolo, ATC, Associate Director of Sports Medicine and head football athletic trainer at the University of Louisville, finds that several Active Ankle models are great for preventing high ankle sprains with his football team. “My offensive and defensive linemen are required for both practice and games to wear the rigid Active Ankle T2 brace as a preventive measure. I feel it is the sturdy, hard plastic stirrup that helps prevent external rotation of the foot. Some of them get taped in addition. I’ve been doing this for 15 years. I don¿t have scientific evidence, but from what I’ve seen, I don’t think we have nearly the number of high ankle sprains that other teams experience.”

Dwayne says that a pair of braces will definitely last through an entire season of practice and games, plus a spring season as well. “The T2 wears extremely well with all that they go through with our football players. Sometimes we can even get two years of use from an Active Ankle. We use them until a strap breaks or starts to stretch.”

For the skill players on his team– wide receivers, running backs, defensive backs, quarterbacks, and linebackers–Dwayne gives the choice of getting taped or wearing an Active Ankle Power Lacer or Pro Lacer Active Ankle braces. “About half choose the tape, and half choose to wear the braces,” he says. “In this case, I can’t say that the ankle brace necessarily does a better job of preventing injury than the tape, but it gives the players a choice of what’s more comfortable for them. They know they have to use one or the other. But my linemen know there’s no choice: they all have to wear the Active Ankle.”
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Printed from The First Aider   January Issue