ankle support

[Anonymous]

DD (11) has just suffered her third ankle sprain in about 18 months. This one isn't particularly bad, but it's frustrating nonetheless. All my kids have flat feel and have to wear custom orthotics in their shoes - I've always worried that makes their ankles slightly less supported in their shoes/cleats. My older son actually always wears an ankle brace in his shoes for basketball games at this point. Soccer is obv different because you are using your feet. Does anyone have any recs of ankle braces my DD could wear for soccer practices/games both in the near term as she is transitioning back after this sprain and in the long term to try to avoid sprains?

[Anonymous]

Not recommended by our PT to wear during activities. Recommendation is to do exercise to strengthen the ankle.

[Anonymous]

Or tape is best if u know how to wrap.

[Anonymous]

Also consider the type of cleat your players are using. Are they playing in aggressive grass cleats (extra grippy with some rectangular cleats and some round cleats) on a worn out turf field by chance?

This will cause some issues with joint pain and possibly contribute to the sprains.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD (11) has just suffered her third ankle sprain in about 18 months. This one isn't particularly bad, but it's frustrating nonetheless. All my kids have flat feel and have to wear custom orthotics in their shoes - I've always worried that makes their ankles slightly less supported in their shoes/cleats. My older son actually always wears an ankle brace in his shoes for basketball games at this point. Soccer is obv different because you are using your feet. Does anyone have any recs of ankle braces my DD could wear for soccer practices/games both in the near term as she is transitioning back after this sprain and in the long term to try to avoid sprains?

Google strength training for ankles.

[Anonymous]

Make sure the orthotics aren’t positioning the foot to high in cleat. Use ankle supports.

[Anonymous]

Someone told me that juggling helped strengthen ankles; maybe give that a try.

[Anonymous]

There are different schools of thought on use of braces - some think no braces and strengthen and others say braces, and some say both. But, bottom line is that if you child continues to sprain, you may not be letting it ever heal properly, and possibly your child has strength issues/deficits, or is using incorrect technique, or isn't wearing the correct shoes, or nay combination of things. What do your child's doctors/physical therapist say about this? Probably best to ask them rather than listen to anyone here, including me!

[Anonymous]

Learn how to tape an ankle properly - in my experience, it is way better support than ankle braces. But also, figure out underlying issue, if any. They shouldn't sprain their ankle so often at this age.

[Anonymous]

Per our kids' physical therapist, best not to strain the strained ankle (not to severe) in 3-4 months, and wear the brace before the ankle gain full strength back. Here is the one got recommended: https://www.amazon.com/Zenith-Ankle-Brace-Adjustable-Support/dp/B01LXRMR2F

The key of a brace is have both vertical and crossing support.