Ankle Sprains and Basketball

This past Wednesday, Mike Miller of the Minnesota Timberwolves suffered a right ankle sprain in their last game, a 100-89 loss in Orlando on Wednesday night. Although he was participating in the morning shoot-around on Friday, the Timberwolves went ahead and put him on the inactive list for the game. At the same time, another pro basketball player Josh Boone is still sitting out and is hoping to return to play for the Nets. So far, he has missed 11 games because of a left ankle contusion.

Ankle sprains are very common in basketball. In fact, all of the largest ankle injury studies that have taught us doctors anything worthwhile about ankle sprains have studied basketball players. Whether you are a high school athlete, weekend warrior or professional player, an ankle sprain can be thoroughly debilitating. There are several ways to make sure that you do not develop an ankle sprain.

First of all, make sure that you were high-top basketball shoes. Although there is no real evidence that these will prevent an ankle sprain, they do prevent contusions. When another player lands on your ankle. If you have any history of ankle instability, you should either have your ankle taped by your trainer or wear an ankle brace. Studies have shown that taping the ankle, will recruit skin stretch receptors in order to tell your brain when you are about to sprain your ankle. Although it will only work for about 30 minutes, this can reduce your risk of having another ankle sprain. If you still continue to have multiple ankle sprains, you should see a foot and ankle specialist to consider other treatments including physical therapy or surgery.

Physical therapy is extremely effective in reducing the number of ankle sprains following an injury that leads to ankle instability. We know that with proprioceptive training which teaches the muscles to compensate for damaged ligaments in the ankle, you can avoid future injury. Without avoiding future injury, you are at risk for serious problems and may have to have surgery when you want it or not.

There are several reasons people have surgery following an ankle sprain. One is to reconstruct severely damaged ligaments. Other tenants can also be injured and might need surgical repair. In those patients that have ankle instability and often sprain their ankles, it is frequently the case that they will roll their ankle so many times that sooner or later they break something. With most athletes, when something is broken, it must be fixed. That usually means surgery. Although the surgery will be a lot of fun for your surgeon, is not likely to be so much fun for you.

If you are playing basketball and sustain an ankle sprain, make sure that you follow the standard treatment of P.R.I.C.E. This means protection, rest, ice, compression, elevation. You must protect your ankle from further injury. This means wearing an ankle brace or an Aircast type splint. Obviously you want to rest the injured ankle and not play basketball until it heals. Icing right away he can stop a lot of the inflammation and swelling that can delay healing. Applying a compressor dressing such as an ace wrap can also stop some of the swelling and get you back to healing quicker. Keeping the foot elevated above your heart is inconvenient, but very effective at reducing the amount of swelling and inflammation. All of these can help to speed your healing.

Once all of the initial inflammation calms down and you can walk on the ankle without pain, it is important to get rehabilitated with physical therapy. This can prevent you from having another ankle sprain and ending up with surgery. Whether you are a pro or a novice, there’s no reason to let ankle sprains keep you out of the game.


Dr. Christopher Segler is an award winning foot surgeon, runner and Ironman Finisher who treats elite athletes. His podiatry sports medicine practice is at the Ankle & Foot Center of Chattanooga. To learn more about ankle sprains and other injuries like heel pain, tendonitis, shin splints and stress fractures visit http://www.AnkleCenter.com .