Hi,
I am getting more interested in trail running but have a history of bad sprains from rolling my ankles. Do any of you wear ankle supports/braces ? Or should I be trying to strengthen my ankles?
Thanks,
Will
Yes. I have badly rolled my right ankle a number of times. When solo in the mountains I take a ankle brace. When doing real technical races (The Rut 50k, Telluride 38) I wear on both ankles the whole time. As you know one good roll and your screwed, all training up in smoke. Any of the JUST wraps do not work. Last year after again rolling my right ankle I had to wear for two months doing all my training. I wear one that wraps and laces
above is an example. The problem is getting your shoe on, depending on the type of shoe. I have no problem getting them into my salomons, but then I really no longer need to snug the shoe 
It does not limit me. If I was the front of the pack guy, might be a pain, but for my speed its good
I have a horrible left ankle…rolled it too many times playing soccer and now trail running as well. I don’t wear any sort of brace as for me, just not enough support. I tape mine with athletic tape every single time I run…if I forget or have no tape in the car I can’t run. Last time I tried, rolled my ankle so bad I could barely walk out (was only 100 yards from the car) and needed some morpheme at the urgent care just to deal with the pain (that may have been one of the few times I’ve cried)! Taping is cheap, easy and offers great support.
I’ve used that one specifically, and a couple of David Macardle? equivalents. As mentioned, can e hard to get foot into some shoes, but once in I’ve found them good. Key isn’t to stop you rolling over, nothing will do that 100%, but it limits the degree of roll, and also gives earlier feedback to your body that you are going over.
I damaged all my nerves from repeatedly going over so have knack all preceproception, and all the wobble board exercises in the world could generate nerves that were gone.
Thats great, thank you. I’ll definitely take your advice on the lace and strap brace. I’ll get it to fit my shoe somehow. Even if I don’t start off by wearing it, I’ll definitely take one with me. The last time I ran trail I rolled my ankle a little but it wasn’t too bad. I kept going, thinking I would run it off then rolled it 10x worse about a minute later. I see a few pro tennis players (Andy Murray for one) wearing permanent ankle braces and they play on a 100% even surface but I did wonder if they worked for trail running.
Regards,
Will
Thanks for your reply. I’ll try the ankle brace first, but if it doesn’t work, I’ll try the tape.
Will
Second on the tape.
I rolled and broke my ankle a few years ago, and I’ve tried braces before and it’s generally challenging to get a shoe on over them.
What sort of tape do you use? Is there a particular pattern you use to tape or is it intuitive?
Standard white athletic tape you can buy anywhere has the best support, but it’s not very flexible. I have taped my ankles too tight with that stuff before and had it cause some discomfort due to my legs swelling a bit late into a long run/race
KT Tape/Rocktape type stuff doesn’t provide as much support but I like it because it stretches more and breathes better.
You can play around with the pattern but I’ve found it’s not super important. Lots of good videos on youtube and whatnot.
I used to go from about 6 inches up the outside of the calf behind the anke, under the heel and then wrapped under and finishing on the top of the foot. Then same on other side, and finally a half strip over the top of foot covering the ends to stop them peeling off. Should be 75% stretch, so that it ramps up quickly if you invert. However, this is not going to assist at all in trail running unless you have great strength and good precoception.
In relation to getting shoes on with the lace up boot I’ve had good success with alternate lacing pattern / longer laces on the shoe with the laced boot. Only time I struggles was with ‘boots’ where it was too tight over the front. For shoes you may need to really loosen the laces, but once in then you can tighten pretty normally. You will want some high socks though that come up to the top of the brace - thin merino ones, such as liner socks worked well for me.
Hi,
I am getting more interested in trail running but have a history of bad sprains from rolling my ankles. Do any of you wear ankle supports/braces ? Or should I be trying to strengthen my ankles?
Thanks,
Will
I will go with the latter choice. I am only one data point, but that’s what worked for me. Taping/bracing will only mask the issue. Start slow, be careful and run on a variety of surfaces to strengthen your legs/ankles/feet.
you can strengthen, but once those tendons stretched, always easier
.
Also, I answered with link to type of wrap. The best stable shoes I have found for technical terrain was salomon pro wing 2 and now replaced with elevate, I can wear either 11 or 11 half in salomons, , on the elevate I do 11 1/2…fits right…
I try to do this Gwen Jorgensen routine to sort my ankles out - but I’m quite forgetful and dont do as often as I should.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8Zly0weWYE
I have a weak left ankle, and I’ve generally used K-tape in the past before a long run. My sister is a physio so she’s applied a couple of times but I also had it done by someone properly trained in applying it prior to last years London Marathon - running movement was unaffected by side to side was greatly reduced.
I would so though, if you have hairy legs you’ll need to get the razor out - the stuff won’t stick properly, and where it does actually stick…well, you’re going to know about when you want to take it off.
I used to a lot of orienteering years ago and I want to get back into it - plus I’ve got my eye on an ultra for next year…
I have been using Ankle Braces since 12 years now and it has helped me reduce my Ankle Pain significantly. I would suggest you to read this article ‘How to Choose the Right Ankle Braces and Ankle Support’ to see what works best for you. It will give you an idea whether you really need and Ankle Brace and if yes which type of Ankle Brace suits you the best.
you can strengthen, but once those tendons stretched, always easier
Limiting motion (with tape or brace or whatever) makes us weak. Great for a little rest initially, but once I’m healed strength and motion are what I’m after.
Proper rehab is the most important thing in preventing recurrent sprains. Braces are no substitute.
Hi,
I am getting more interested in trail running but have a history of bad sprains from rolling my ankles. Do any of you wear ankle supports/braces ? Or should I be trying to strengthen my ankles?
Thanks,
Will
I would look at some shoes which have less lift in the soles and absolutely no stability control built in. I was getting at least 1 sprain a season and one year i had two really bad ones. I switched to inov8 shoes and have not had any since. There are plenty of close calls where i still step funky on it, but with a less built up shoe it is far easier to catch/recover my bad step when before that would have been a pop. Hokas scare me with those huge soles.
Well thank you, however , at 60, tomorrow I am doing a 38 miler on technical terrain going above 13k, I’ll wear a brace. Because I know my body and its safer. I guess I just am not responsible for not makin sure after years my ankle is strong
This is the best I’ve found. Very popular with professional athletes (tennis, football, etc.)
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TZTO0TO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Sorry, for the steady ankle support, I only know Bodyprox. Unlike other ankle supports for trail running, it’s not particularly heavy, which means you can wear it while wearing boots. I have been using it for three months and it has a good support.