Is there any reason not to war ankle braces all the time?

[drvinnybombat]

I turn my ankles a lot, and have sprained each one pretty badly over the last 10 years. I'd really like to avoid this common injury, and I wonder if wearing ankle braces while running and lifting will in some way weaken my stabilizing muscles. I already think I need to wear them any time I play basketball or soccer.

 

[SilentBob187]

Well, if it were me, I wouldn't use them until it was the day of a competition or more strenuous event. I would think of them kind of like a belt or straps. They can help you through a lift, but if you use them too much then you do lose out on the key components to your lifting such as a strong core (belt,) and wrist strength (straps.) In fact, using them for everything could actually weaken your ankles making you more susceptible of rolling/turning your ankles when you don't wear them.

But then again, I could be wrong. Those are just my thoughts on the subject.

 

[BigBlackGuy]

It will weaken your ankles if you wear them all the time. As silentbob said, use them to supplement already strong ankles that are simply prone to be being sprained.

 

[naturalgainer]

Well I used to skate and rolled my ankles so bad that the tendons are so loose they will never tighten back up and the tendons wrap and slip around the bone and my ankles used to be very weak. Now the tendons are not the same and they never will be but I strengthened my ankle muscles up enough that they are just as strong. Take A 2.5 pound weight and wrap it to the end of your foot. Then sit on the edge of your bed and cross one leg over the other so that it is hanging. Then write the the ABCs forwards and backwards in the air with your foot as a set and do it 3 times. Or untill the burn is insane. Do that each night and then increase to 5 lbs for a while. Then if they ever start to get weak again just do it like once a weak or so to keep them strong