Tyson Chandler is the a big part of the future of the New Orleans Hornets, so it’s disappointing he’d leave a game due to a sprained ankle. It does sound like it’s not too bad:
I’m fine. I just stayed out as a precaution.
We’ve covered how to treat sprained ankles in the past, so I thought we’d talk about a few ways to prevent sprained ankles. If you avoid the injury then you don’t have to deal with it.
The ankle is an engineering marvel. It’s composed of ligaments and bone allowing you to move your feet interdependent of your legs. As such a pivotal join, no pun intended, it stands up to great stresses placed on it from walking, running, cutting and more.
Ankle sprains happen when the ligaments in the ankle are torn. You can do this through twisting, rolling or trauma. What we’re going to discuss are lateral or side to side ankle sprains, which are the most common.
You want to avoid tearing the ankle ligaments, so here are the top five ways to avoid ankle sprains:
Strength training: The ankle can be strengthened through exercise routines. Strengthening the ankle allows the joint to withstand greater lateral pressure.
Stretching: I am not a huge believer in stretching, but for folks who suffer from chronic ankle sprains stretching can help. It loosens the ligaments and prepares for any eventual trauma.
Mueller Adjustable Ankle Support Prevents Ankle Injuries
Brace: The idea behind an ankle brace is to keep your ankle fixed and mitigate any over arching lateal movement to the ankle. They come in a variety of styles. I have no experience with these.
Footwear: If your shoes don’t provide proper support to your foot, the ankles will suffer. You need to ensure that you’re wearing supportive shoes and possibly an insert.
Back off: The best thing you can do is listen to your body. If you are pushing too hard your body will usually shoot you a warning sign. Listen to it. Your ankle might become sore or have a feeling of great weight on it. If you stop there is a good chance you can avoid the damage of an ankle sprain.