Ankle brace for torn ankle ligaments

Spraining or tearing your ankle ligaments can occur during sporting or daily activities. For example, spraining or spraining the ankle of the ankle after a misstep can cause the relatively soft structures located on the side (the ankle ligaments, also called ligaments) to endure too much tension. When this tension becomes too high, there is a risk of tearing or even tearing of an ankle ligament.

What happens when the ankle ligaments tear?

The ankle is made up of three different bones: the tibia, the ankle bone (on which the shin rests) and the fibula. These bones together construct the ankle fork. The two protruding bone parts of the ankles that can be felt on the outside are called the malleoli. The ankle ligaments connect these bone parts together. These are firm and rigid band structures that enclose the ankle. A torn ankle ligament has caused your foot to tilt inward beyond what your body can normally handle. As a result, the ligaments can stretch considerably, tear or tear away from the bone. When a tendon tears away from the bone and takes a piece of bone with it, we call it avulsion fracture. When the ankle ligaments are torn, extreme pain and an egg-shaped bump can occur on the outside of the ankle.

Causes of an ankle ligament rupture

When someone stumbles at, for example, a curb, a step or a hole in the grass, the ankle joint can make an unexpected movement. It also often occurs when someone lands incorrectly on their ankle after a jump. When the ankle does not fold in but out, it can happen that a piece of the fibula breaks off.

Symptoms of stretched ankle ligaments

• Swollen ankle on the side
• There is an egg-shaped bump on the ankle
• There is a bruise (a purple color just below the ankle)
• Moving the ankle is very painful
• It is not or hardly possible to be able to stand on the foot
• It is not or hardly possible to walk
  

Treatment of ankle sprains

To reduce pain and swelling, it is important that there is considerable cooling during the first half hour with ice or a cold pack. Note: It is important to do this within the first half hour after trauma to avoid intra-articular strain. After this, care should be taken to recover the foot: keep the foot up a lot, give compression to the ankle joint and give the ankle joint sufficient rest. When walking is unavoidable, do this with elbow crutches to relieve the ankle joint of as much tension as possible. After a few days you will notice that the swelling subsides. However, the entire recovery can take another 4-7 weeks. To support this process and to strengthen the ankle, you can use an ankle bandage or ankle brace .

Many options are offered, but the ankle braces below can in any case advise the experts at ProBrace when you are dealing with torn or torn ankle ligaments:

Ankle brace ankle ligaments torn

Have you broken your ankle and are you looking for a little extra support and stability? Then view the two options below:

• The Thuasne sports ankle bandage with straps

This ankle brace offers perfect support after spraining the ankle and tearing the ankle ligaments. The ankle brace stabilizes the ankle joint by means of adjustment straps, which will help you to make the ankle brace tighter and looser, just what you like!

• The Malleotrain S

This ankle brace has a special cross-over strap, which makes it very easy to adjust to your size. This ankle brace also stabilizes the ankle joint. Are you sporty? We also sell these in a sports version: the Bauerfeind Sports ankle support ankle brace .

Does an ankle brace make my muscles weaker?

Wearing a brace has many advantages: it contributes to the stability of the joint, the recovery of the ligaments and it relieves the load on the local muscles. This relief ensures that muscles that are affected by an injury or overload are less heavily stressed and in this way can recover more quickly. However, in the corridors it is still regularly said that wearing a brace causes the recovering muscles to become weaker after use. But is this so?

A critical look at the medical world is always one of the spearheads, so it is wise to look at the scientific side of the story before drawing conclusions about the impact of a brace.

Recent research from 2015 and 2019 respectively into the impact of wearing a brace on muscles has shown that wearing a brace has no negative effects on muscle strength, endurance and stiffness of a muscle.

The first study we’d like to highlight is a 2019 study that showed that wearing an ankle brace has no negative effects on muscle strength in healthy adolescents. Research has been done on the normal walking movement in which the ankle constantly changes in flexion and extension and thereby has a stabilizing role for the body, with a comparable role for the knee joint. In this movement, the effects of wearing a brace on the local muscles around the ankle and knee joint were investigated. It has been shown that the muscle strength before and after wearing a brace did not differ from each other and that the moment (the angle of the upper leg to the lower leg) is also unchanged. So no difference in movement can be seen, which could have led to an adjustment of the local muscles. This ensures that the situations and movements can be compared, so that we can state that wearing a brace does not lead to reduced muscle strength.

A second study from 2015 shows that with the same movement, a walking movement, the strength of muscles in the foot does not decrease. Researchers did not only look at the strength of the muscle, but also at the muscle endurance and the stiffness of the muscles. In this study healthy participants again made a walking movement that looked at the strength in local muscles, the endurance of these muscles and the stiffness of the muscles and ligaments. This study has shown that wearing a brace does not play a negative role in muscle strength, muscle endurance and stiffness of muscles and ligaments. It has been shown that wearing certain (read: wrong) braces can lead to a reduced function. Within ProBrace we strive to always measure the best product for the situation! That is why advising on the best brace for your situation is very important to us. Would you also like to receive the best advice from one of our product specialists? Please contact us via our customer service !

The above teaches us that wearing a brace does not make your muscles weaker. So make sure that you are always critical when it comes to such statements. If you have any doubts about this, contact a specialist who can provide you with the right information!

Sources:

Hall, M., Diamond, L.E., Lenton, G.K., Pizzolato, C., & Saxby, DJ, (2019). Immediate effects of valgus knee bracing on tibiofemoral contact forces and knee muscle forces. Gait & Posture, 68, 55 – 62.

Yamauchi, J. & Koyama, K., (2015). The influence of Ankle Braces on the Maximum Strength of Plantor and Toe Flexor Muscles. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 36, 592 – 595.