Ankle Injuries

[basketballmom]

High school daughter suffered a minor ankle sprain about 5 weeks ago during a basketball game. Her ankle does not hurt to walk, run or jump on. It is a little swollen at the end of the day, we ice, elevate and on occasion take Motrin, especially after a game. Her basketball coach wants her to wear a brace at all times, practices and games. I have been told wearing braces allows for the ankle to remain weak and creates a situation where braces would always be needed. Would the suggestion that she wear the brace during games but not practice in an effort to strengthen the ankle be valid? I would appreciate your comments or any research.

[tulch001]

A few pieces of advice:
1. Regarding the brace -- have her wear it when it hurts, or to prevent hurting. When I was told to wear a brace, I wore it for practice, and if I needed it for the duration of my normal day. Always had it off for sleeptime, unless you're also using it as a means of compression to help with the swelling.
2. There's things your daughter can do to rehabilitate her ankle once it's rested enough and has started to heal to strengthen it. Here's a few I always used:
a) Draw the alphabet with your ankle in a warm/hot bathtub. It feels silly, but it really helps ROM (range of motion).
b) Get ankle elastics (see a sports therapist or look up ElastaBand on the web) and use those as directed. I'm not good enough to describe the exercises without a visual/demonstrational aid. Sorry.
c) Get a towel and have your daughter try to push against the towel at different angles - push it forwards, to the sides, and upwards.
3. My last piece of advice is to rest the ankle as much as possible. That's what helps it heal the most. The brace will help since she's not going to stop basketball (just as I wouldn't stop gymnastics...), but rest it as much as possible outside of sports and normal activity.

Hope I've helped!
-ST.