Ankle support – best boots and braces?

[Josh Brock]

I have an ankle that is about as bad as it can get. I use soloman boots(not shoes) and I loove them! I also wrap my ankle with athletic tape I feel that this gives it really good support with low bulk.
Im not sure how bad your ankle is though. My ankle will have to be replaced in the near future and only has about 5 percent of normal mobility. If your ankle is as bad as mine it does not matter what you "try" to do to excercise it, in fact you would likely just do more damage. But only you know what is feezible for you. but I would consider the athletic tape for ankle support.

[Steven McAllister]

I suffered my whole life with ankles rolling. I have had many sprained ankles.

I used to overcome the problem by wearing mid-height shoes to reduce the range that my ankle would bend when I rolled them, which was a lot. This helped.

BUT, I now wear low top trail runners without issue. This is because of advice from many experts on BPL.

I started by hiking a few times a week on relatively easy trails so that there was some side to side ankle motion to strengthen my ankles, but not enough to make my ankles roll.

After a while my ankles stopped rolling and on those rare occassions when they did roll, my reflexes and muscle strength reduced the angle of the roll and so no more sprains.

So yes, I now agree that ankle strength is the key. Support just prolongs the issue.

[Tad Englund]

Josh, even though you think your ankle is as bad as it gets-

Mine is worse! So there.

[Roger Caffin]

> Or has the prevailing thought shifted to boots providing some ankle support?
Ever tried walking in Darth Vaders? (That's normal white plastic downhill ski boots.) Lots of ankle support there! Pity the walking is 'not so easy'.

Cheers

[Jennifer Mitol]

The main reason people repeatedly "roll" their ankles is not so much a question of weakness, although that does play a bit of a role. More importantly is proprioception – your body's ability to know where it is in space. This means when you are about to put your foot down on the ground your body actually knows what position the foot is in before it touches the ground. Those who have had major sprains, or multiple small sprains, tend to have severe deficits here, and this is why they continue to roll their ankles: they can't really control how the foot strikes the ground because the body doesn't really know the exact position of the foot.

In a lab we can do rather elaborate assessments of what the foot does during the swing phase of gait (which is exactly what you think it is); then right before heel strike the foot either has aligned properly to strike properly…or it hasn't. In this latter case the foot either has to make a last minute correction before heel strike, or the correction is done at the ground contact. Either way the risk of injury is greater.

Boots with high ankles do provide a small bit of actual structural support IF tied appropriately, but the reason those with "weak" ankles tend to like them so much is that the greater contact area of the ankle increases the proprioceptive input to the brain during stepping activies.

And the reason "training" in minimalist shoes can reduce ankle rolling is not because your ankle is actually stronger…it's because you've improved your proprioceptive input and processing. This is a major component of rehab after an ankle sprain…not strengthening so much, but proprioceptive and balance training.

[K C]

She is right, I'm a DPT as well. If you watch pro basketball you'll notice lower cut BB shoes over the last several decades due to the science.

[Daniel Pittman]

That's a great bit of insight. I always suspected there was a kinesthetic component to injuries, but I'd never heard it explained like that. Thanks for taking the time to write that.

[Steven McAllister]

Thanks Jennifer.

I think it was Roger who made that point when this came up once before.
I argued against the concept, but now totally agree and my experience is proof.

[Bill Segraves]

Larry's good question raises others. Maybe if a given pair of boots doesn't provide enough support to prevent an ankle injury it's not going to impede the development of some relevant strength (or proprioceptive sense) through hiking or other exercise.

It'd be nice if there were more scientific tests of the current hypotheses, and also if there were a bit more standardization of terminology. What folks here think of as heavy boots might pass for light hikers in other circles.

Bill S.

[Larry De La Briandais]

"Ever tried walking in Darth Vaders? (That's normal white plastic downhill ski boots.) Lots of ankle support there! Pity the walking is 'not so easy'."

Certainly, but if they had a different forward angle or more forward movement they would be east to walk in.

Not sure what that has to do with my question…

[Daniel Fish]

…

[Steven McAllister]

@Daniel,

Sort of off subject, but…
Although barefoot shoes are supposed to be good for many foot problems, including fallen arches and heel spurs, I don't know what benefit they have for ankles except maybe reduce the pronation issues that can cause the ankle to roll.

You may want to check out huaraches as another option for barefoot hiking. An inexpensive option to try is the XeroShoe. Or make your own from an old tire.

Most barefoot shoes tend to wear out quick when trail hiking.

[W I S N E R !]

I'd argue that where minimalist shoes will help with ankle issues is that they force you to be aware of foot placement. In my experience, boots do the opposite.
If what Jennifer is saying is true, I would imagine that the minimal footwear might help retrain your sense of foot placement/awareness due to the constant subtle feedback.

I've always suspected that so called "weak ankles" were more of a balance, reflex, and foot placement issue. Most people spend their entire lives in overbuilt footwear on perfectly flat surfaces; it's no wonder so many have trouble with rolling ankles when on uneven terrain.

[Daniel Fish]

…

[Steven McAllister]

@Craig,

Now that I think about it, you are probably right. I notice that I am more aware of foot placement when I wear barefoot type shoes. You sense the ground before you apply much weight and so your reflexes are more apt to react quicker.

Also, walking barefoot style means that your foot strikes the ground in a more stable position and so potentially less chance of rolling on uneven terrain.

[Jennifer Mitol]

When we work on proprioception and balance in PT we do have people actually barefoot. But we also work very diligently to gradually improve the difficulty of the challenge so as not to go too far. Being barefoot allows them to train proprioception as well as the intrinsic muscles of the foot to help with overall foot and ankle stability.

But again, not to beat a dead horse, there are times when a foot is just too darned floppy and all the barefoot training and minimalist shoes in the world aren't going to fix that. I absolutely think people should try it in safe, controlled environments (the gym is great…at home, a few hours at work, maybe try walking the dog a few times a week…) then when that becomes easy and effortless, move up to something more challenging. GRADUALLY. It really can help a lot of people, just be smart about it.

I cannot tell you how many people end up in my waiting room (Chicago is a big running town) because they heard running barefoot was going to fix all their foot and ankle problems…and now they have new ones.

[spelt with a t]

Boots with high ankles do provide a small bit of actual structural support IF tied appropriately, but the reason those with "weak" ankles tend to like them so much is that the greater contact area of the ankle increases the proprioceptive input to the brain during stepping activies.

This describes my experience with mid-height trail runners exactly and sounds a lot more sciencey than, "They feel more connected to my foot (than the low-cut shoes.)"

[Daniel Fish]

…

[Bill Segraves]

"The main reason people repeatedly "roll" their ankles is not so much a question of weakness, although that does play a bit of a role. More importantly is proprioception – your body's ability to know where it is in space. This means when you are about to put your foot down on the ground your body actually knows what position the foot is in before it touches the ground."

For backpacking, I might have thought that the ability to make corrections smoothly after touch-down would be as important or maybe even more. Other than when I'm on talus, I'm not normally looking closely at where my feet will go, and even if I am, I don't necessarily know what's going to happen when I put my foot down (rocks and holes hidden by grass, who knows what under leaves or snow, etc). Might this be the case?

In keeping with the theme of one of Jen's pearls from another thread, for me, the best training for walking on uneven ground seems to be …. walking on uneven ground.

Cheers,

Bill S.

[Sean Smith]

Interesting reading! I've been trying to get into minimalist and low drop shoes but seem to have issues. I tried running in them last year and my achilles seriously rebelled but I know I overdid it and also hadn't run for a few years being a road racing cyclist…

That said, anyone experience lower back pain when switching to 4mm drop shoes? I mostly notice it when I bend over for prolonged periods of time and then straighten up. or after sitting for awhile. after walking or standing awhile I don't notice any pain.

I bought a pair of Nike Free as well as some Brooks pure flow and pure grit II. they all felt fantastic and I couldn't decide. I was hoping to backpack in the pure grit II but am worried about the serious lack of support in the uppers.

i wear the Free at work and walk quite a bit.

I noticed lower back pain started up a few weeks ago roughly a week after starting to wear the Nike Free at work all day, and I'm trying to pinpoint the cause. It may be totally unrelated and I tweaked it doing something else, but I don't recall doing so.

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