Why don't they all tape their ankles?

[csfansince60s]

Just read an interesting article on ankle protection that I thought that I would share. Here's one excerpt.

http://www.ballnroll.com/basketball?post=645

Ankle brace or no ankle brace, Curry?s still had a couple scary moments with that ankle this season, but essentially it?s illustrative of the fact that braces and tape have become almost as important as the shoe for a player with suspect ankles. Ankle injuries, as Bryant asserted, will always be part of the game of basketball regardless of the type of sneaker involved, but players can take precaution to lessen the risk. Unfortunately for some, they feel the extra support is detrimental to their overall mobility

It truly amazes me that in this day and age, all NBA players don't do something to protect this critical joint in their body.

It seems that it takes a severe sprain to convince basketball players, especially the youngsters to tape or at least use support in some way.

I get that the initial feeling of being restricted slightly in movement is a big turnoff and that the extra time it takes to get taped is a pain in the ass, especially to the youngsters who think that they are invincible.

It's sad that it takes some severe pain to convince young athletes to protect their ankles/livelihood in some way. I can empathize, though. In high school, coming down from a layup, my ankle rolled with such force that the tibia and fibula split. Can still feel that agony today. I wear ankle braces even playing golf. 

EDIT: Here's hoping Marcus Smart is taped for every game of his hopefully long, successful career as a C.

[mgent]

Same reason they don't all wear hightops.

[mgent]

If a NASCAR driver felt they'd go faster without their helmet, you'd better believe at least half of them would try to leave them off.  This is the highest level, guys will take every little edge that the rules allow.

[hwangjini_1]

Same reason they don't all wear hightops.

which is? (an honest question since i dont know the reason.)

[blink]

yeah I somewhat agree about the ankle taping.  I had a really bad sprain playing basketball, rolled the ankle stepping on another players foot.  Was on crutches for 2 weeks, and for the rest of the season I had that ankle taped every day before practice and games.  At first it was cumbersome, but after you got used to it, it didn't seem to impair movement or speed that much.  You get used to the support that the tape job provides, and when you don't have it the joint feels a bit weaker.

I just don't know if a good ankle tape job would have prevented what happened to Smart or not?  Seems like it would have at least helped somewhat.

[blink]

Same reason they don't all wear hightops.

which is? (an honest question since i dont know the reason.)

I would like to know too?  I look at those small shoes that some guys were and just think that is not good.

I guess the lighter shoes make them quicker?

[csfansince60s]

If a NASCAR driver felt they'd go faster without their helmet, you'd better believe at least half of them would try to leave them off.  This is the highest level, guys will take every little edge that the rules allow.

....and every little edge that the rules supposedly don't allow (like PEDs, but that's a discussion for another thread).

I agree with you 100%.

 I still have a hard time fathoming, though, that when the players evaluate their risk/reward for not protecting their ankles, that pain, loss of playing time due to injury, enhanced likelihood of repeated injury and their potential consequent loss of value (earning power) is outweighed by the edge that they feel that they get by not taking precautionary measures like taping and high-tops.

I have no statistics to back this up, but I think(hope) that after that first bad ankle injury, a, most players would tape/brace/ high-tops to prevent the recurrence. Especially since I'm sure that in their first workouts/scrimmages after the injury, some cautionary measures are taken, especially taping, and that eases the player into its acceptance.

[csfansince60s]

yeah I somewhat agree about the ankle taping.  I had a really bad sprain playing basketball, rolled the ankle stepping on another players foot.  Was on crutches for 2 weeks, and for the rest of the season I had that ankle taped every day before practice and games.  At first it was cumbersome, but after you got used to it, it didn't seem to impair movement or speed that much.  You get used to the support that the tape job provides, and when you don't have it the joint feels a bit weaker.

I just don't know if a good ankle tape job would have prevented what happened to Smart or not?  Seems like it would have at least helped somewhat.

Your last line is where I'm at on this, exactly.

Kobe, in that article, his rational for not wearing high-tops, says something along the line of  "if you come down on someone's foot, nothing is going to prevent you from turning it".

That may be true, but as you astutely suggested, it probably would help somewhat, and in Smart's injury (not turning it on someone's foot, just a misstep/too much pressure), it could have completely prevented it, and at the very least mitigated the damage.

[GetLucky]

Same reason they don't all wear hightops.

which is? (an honest question since i dont know the reason.)

A few research studies have shown that the likelihood of a sprained ankle is not increased when wearing low top shoes playing basketball. I'm pretty sure most athletes just do it for the comfort.

However, I have yet to play basketball in shoes below the ankle.

Edit: here's one of the studies: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8368420 just so you all don't think I pulled the info out of my backside

[MBunge]

I'm no doctor but the reason I've always heard for not taping the ankles is that routine taping leaves the ankles weaker because they don't experience the normal stress and pressure of playing.  I have no idea if that's just an old trainer's fable or not.

Mike

[blink]

I'm no doctor but the reason I've always heard for not taping the ankles is that routine taping leaves the ankles weaker because they don't experience the normal stress and pressure of playing.  I have no idea if that's just an old trainer's fable or not.

Mike

I can kind of see the logic in that, and that when I didn't tape my ankles after doing it for so long they felt a little 'weaker' to me.  But that could just be just a mental thing too.

If this is true though, then why do all NFL players tape the crap out of their ankles for every game and practice?  Just curious.

[csfansince60s]

Same reason they don't all wear hightops.

which is? (an honest question since i dont know the reason.)

A few research studies have shown that the likelihood of a sprained ankle is not increased when wearing low top shoes playing basketball. I'm pretty sure most athletes just do it for the comfort.

However, I have yet to play basketball in shoes below the ankle.

I think that you're wise to play in the high-tops, and this study cited in the article in my OP backs up your instincts:

However, according to study done by the National Athletic Trainer?s Association, and published by the Journal of Athletic Training in 2000, high-top footwear reduces the amount of ankle inversion athletes experience. According to the study, ?High-top shoes reduced the amount of inversion by 4.5?, the maximum rate of inversion by 100.1?/s, and the average rate of inversion by 73.00?/s when compared with low-top shoes. Depending upon the loading conditions, subjects wearing high-top shoes may reduce their risk of ankle sprains?.

Not sure exactly how those numbers translate, but tit sounds like the high-tops at least mitigate if not prevent injury, and maybe even prevent in some cases.

[csfansince60s]

I'm no doctor but the reason I've always heard for not taping the ankles is that routine taping leaves the ankles weaker because they don't experience the normal stress and pressure of playing.  I have no idea if that's just an old trainer's fable or not.

Mike

The article cited in the OP gives voice to that theory:

And there is a school of thought that states that wearing high-top shoes becomes a crutch of sorts; the ankle is never fully able to gain enough strength because of the excess support. It would be better, according to those who adhere to that position, to wear low-top shoes and work on strengthening your ankles through exercise.

Still, if the theory had credence, why not both do ankle strengthening exercises AND tape/ high-tops?

[Nerf DPOY]

I don't get why teams (like, the Celtics?) don't simply enforce ankle taping. Heck, they make Little Leaguers wear those stupid cages now; the Yankees can't even have facial hair. Why is ankle taping a personal choice? There are millions of dollars at stake.

Oh and just superfluously I'd like to relate that I'm among the sea of idiots who learned the hard way that landing on someone's foot in a driveway can have consequences. I'm so stupid that after seeing the sole of my shoe, I tried to play two weeks later and rolled it again. Then I did it again a month later. I just don't jump anymore. This was all 12 years ago.

[csfansince60s]

I don't get why teams (like, the Celtics?) don't simply enforce ankle taping. Heck, they make Little Leaguers wear those stupid cages now; the Yankees can't even have facial hair. Why is ankle taping a personal choice? There are millions of dollars at stake.

Oh and just superfluously I'd like to relate that I'm among the sea of idiots who learned the hard way that landing on someone's foot in a driveway can have consequences. I'm so stupid that after seeing the sole of my shoe, I tried to play two weeks later and rolled it again. Then I did it again a month later. I just don't jump anymore. This was all 12 years ago.

+1..I can empathize.

Every time you roll it, the ligaments stretch more and more until they actually lose their elasticity, thus predisposing you to more injury. No amount of "ankle strengthening" can fix that.

I agree that teams should make it mandatory. Not sure that works with the CBA, but if it does, they should do it.