Preventing Ankle Sprains
Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Female athletes are very prone to knee and ankle injuries. In today’s 60 Second Housecall, Dr. Ken Davis provides a prescription that may reduce those injuries.

Female athletes are prone to ankle and knee injuries. A new study from the University of Pennsylvania shows that ankle braces can help protect female collegiate volleyball players from sprains.

Ankle injuries are common among female volleyball players, accounting for up to 36 percent of all injuries.  Data from the NCAA showed a rate of one ankle injury from every 1,000 practices or games.

University of Pennsylvania volleyball players were mandated to wear a padded brace on each ankle. Just one ankle injury occurred in the course of seven seasons. This is a rate of 7 injuries per 100,000 exposures, or fourteen times less than the average injury rate.

Nearly one-half of the Pennsylvania volleyball players had suffered an ankle injury before playing in college. This study shows that the routine use of ankle braces may dramatically reduce injuries.

For North Mississippi Medical Center, I’m Dr. Ken Davis.