If you’re one of those sports coaches who really wants to know how to help avoid ankle injury, then these unmissable tips hold the keys you need to succeed.
The thing is, the practice of strapping ankles actually causes more problems than it solves because the reality is that preventing injury isn’t just about this training session or match.
Sports coaches need to know these injury prevention tips because if you keep restricting the movement of the ankles, your players will be operating at a huge disadvantage, and, you’re just storing up trouble for later on if you do things this way.
Unmissable Tip # 1 – Limiting Movement Won’t Help
Strapping the ankles restricts their movement – and while this might SEEM like it’s helpful in stopping sprains, strains and “going over” on them, actually it’s not effective in preventing injury at all.
Movement of the ankle is vitally important when it comes to run speed, being able to change direction quickly, absorbing forces on landing and much more. Without the ability to move, performance is hugely limited and the work that isn’t being done by the ankles must then be done by the rest of the body, which puts increased pressure on the knees, hips and back.
In short, by stopping the ankle moving you’re simply moving the injury risk from the ankle to somewhere else in the body instead
Unmissable Tip # 2 – Injuries Don’t Just Happen On The Pitch/Court
If your participants are in the habit of strapping their ankles to prevent “rolling” them in practice or during matches, then they are actually INCREASING the risk of it happening outside of sport.
Consistent lack of movement in a joint leads to a loss of function and a reduced connection with the brain. This reduces balance and coordination which makes trips, falls and “rolling” the ankle much more likely – even when walking down the street!
Unmissable Tip # 3 – Injuries Will Be More Serious & Take Longer To Recover From
With a lack of movement comes a stiffening of the muscles, tendons and ligaments around the joint. This stiffening results in a lack of pliability, which means that when the ankle does get “rolled”, the injury isn’t a minor strain that takes a week to recover from with a little rest, it’s a complete rupture that takes months to recover from (and usually involves crutches, and/or a walking brace).
So, next time you feel the urge to recommend strapping ankles, try to resist and look at ways you can make your players more injury resilient instead.
I’ve outlined EXACTLY how you can do that in a simple step-by-step process, packed with tips and tricks in my Amazon bestselling book “The Coaches Guide to Long Term Injury Prevention Success”
So, if you’re a sports coach who wants to help avoid injury, check out it out at https://mostmotion.com/book – Claim your copy right now!