Ankle injuries are not only the most common injury that is registered with ACC out of all sporting injuries but they also have one of the highest recurrence rates across all injuries.
An ankle injury usually occurs when you roll outwards, twisting the foot inwards. A key indicator of severity is the ability to weight-bear soon after it happens. If you are unable to put any weight on the foot, it is important to get an x-ray to exclude a broken ankle.
Otherwise a handy way to offload the injury in the first few days is strapping, see the instructions below for how to do this at home:
-
Put some underwrap on to protect the skin
2. Lock the top and bottom of the underwrap with ‘anchors’.
3. Start the ‘stirrups’ on the inner ankle and go under the heel, pulling upwards towards the outer ankle. Do 3-4 of these, layering each by half the width of the tape.
4. Do a ‘heel lock’ by starting at the shin,
4a. Angling down towards the Archilles
4b. Wrap around, under the heel/foot
4c. Pull back, up to the starting point
5. Lock off the remainder of the ankle, making sure to cover all exposed skin (to avoid rubbing)
6. This is how it should look when finished!
If you are unfortunate enough to sustain an ankle injury then start with these tips and tricks and then if you are still unsure then visit one of the team at Healthzone Physiotherapy for support!
Written by DAVID COOPER
Sports & Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist.
BHSc (Physio), PGDip Musculo (Sports & Manipulative Physio), NZPS.
Kinetics Physiotherapy & Rehabilitation, AUT Millennium