Ankles: They Need Your Support

Injuries that affect the ankle are the most common injuries that occur during recreational activities and sports, such as basketball, volleyball, soccer, and other activities that take place on any uneven surface. Most ankle injuries are sustained when the joint is extended.

Because of the ankles propensity for injury and ankle injury occurs 1 per 10,000 people per day which is more than 2,800 within the U.S. alone. Injuries to the ankle on the dominant leg occur 2-3 times more than the non-dominant ankle. While most ankle injuries are considered to be relatively harmless past the immediate pain and loss of mobility, significant damage to the ankle can cause a significant amount of morbidity in the area. More than 70-percent of athletes that have reoccurring ankle injuries and 59-percent of those experience a significant disability or overall drop in their physical prowess or performance.

Studies have shown that more than 70-percent of all patients have had lingering effects from their ankle injury 6 to 18 months after their initial visit, and other patients reported that 32-percent of patients experience lingering symptoms seven years after their initial physician visit. Female athletes are 24-percent more likely to receive an ankle injury than male athletes.