The other day, Doug Richie Jr., DPM, FACFAS, wrote a post on the Podiatry Today website, titled: What the Evidence Reveals about Prophylactic Ankle Bracing. Richie discusses the rising amount of attention that preventative care is playing in athletic programs around the country. Some have even begun requiring that ankle braces be worn by athletes.

In the article, Richie mentions, “While ankle sprains are the most common injury in athletics, the three sports with the most common incidence of sprains are soccer, volleyball and basketball.”

Numerous studies have been conducted to analyze the effectiveness of prophylactic ankle bracing in young athletes. One study revealed that “regardless of gender, there was no significant difference in the ability of each brace to prevent injury. In addition, the braced group did not have any significant advantage in preventing injury when compared to the control group (Frey C, et. al. Foot Ankle Int. 2010)

Read the full-text version of Dr. Richie’s Blog post

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