If you have ever played a field or court based sport in Australia, you’ve likely experienced an ankle sprain at some point in your sporting career. Whether it’s a one-off event or recurrent sprains, ankle sprains make up a significant portion of lower limb injuries across multiple sports.
Working with team sports, it’s rare to go a season without at least one player requesting ankle taping, or asking about ankle bracing. This is because ankle taping and bracing can be an effective tool for reducing the risk of ankle sprains, particularly a repeat sprain shortly after an initial injury.
The Issue With Long-Term Taping and Bracing
Given how effective taping and bracing can be, and the mental confidence they can provide an athlete, many choose to continue taping or bracing their ankles long after the initial injury has healed. It’s also common for athletes to rely on taping or bracing as a long-term solution while overlooking other contributing factors to ankle health, such as a proper rehabilitation programme.
Particularly in younger athletes, becoming too reliant on ankle taping or bracing long term can lead to a loss of strength and coordination in the muscles, tendons and ligaments that contribute to ankle stability. This increases the risk of recurrent sprains, reduced lower limb strength and power, and the development of chronic ankle instability (CAI).
When Should Taping Be Applied?
As with most physiotherapy questions, context matters. Some, though not all, of the factors worth considering include:
- Is it for training or for matchplay?
- Is the training intensity high or low?
- How long since the athlete’s last ankle sprain?
When Should I Stop Taping After an Injury?
In most cases, this isn’t a binary decision. Rather than suddenly stopping taping altogether, it’s generally best to wean off it gradually, much like tapering a medication. This creates a criteria-based approach, where you’re continually assessing the ankle’s ability to withstand the physical demands of the sport.
The idea is to gradually increase the intensity of exposure until you’ve had a successful run at full competition demands without an issue. This gradual approach gives the best chance of returning to sport while reducing the risk of a recurrence in the short term.
An example of this weaning process, for a 22-year-old footballer with a lateral ankle sprain, training twice a week with one game:
- Tape for all training sessions and games
- Tape for one training session (the heaviest) and the game
- Tape for the game only, coming off the bench
- Tape for the game only, starting
- No tape
What Should I Do Long Term?
As with any injury, the best defence against recurrence is a thorough physical rehabilitation programme. This doesn’t mean waiting until the programme is complete before returning to sport. Instead, the programme should be treated as ongoing maintenance, integrated into your standard preparation routine the same way a warm-up is. Consistency here gives you the best long-term protection.
How BeFit Can Help
Our Sports Physiotherapy team works with athletes across a range of field and court sports to manage ankle sprains, build individualised rehabilitation programmes, and guide a safe, criteria-based return to taping, bracing and full competition.
Book an appointment at BeFit Training Physiotherapy — no referral needed.
Edgecliff: (02) 9327 7749 | Coogee: (02) 7205 2805
References
Doherty C, Delahunt E, Caulfield B, Hertel J, Ryan J, Bleakley C. The Incidence and Prevalence of Ankle Sprain Injury: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Prospective Epidemiological Studies. Sports Med. 2014;44(1):123-140.
Dizon JM, Reyes JJ. A Systematic Review on the Effectiveness of External Ankle Supports in the Prevention of Inversion Ankle Sprains Among Elite and Recreational Players. J Sci Med Sport. 2010;13(3):309-317.
Academy of Orthopaedic Physical Therapy of the American Physical Therapy Association. Ankle Stability and Movement Coordination Impairments: Lateral Ankle Ligament Sprains Revision 2021: Clinical Practice Guideline. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2021;51(4):CPG1-CPG80.
Australian Physiotherapy Association. Clinical guidelines. physiotherapy.asn.au.
