Hi, Early Dec last year I sprained my ankle during badminton, it was a minor sprain, with some swelling and bruising. I was walking fine within a few days and started playing again two weeks later. Since then, I always wore an ankle guard while playing. Yesterday, I forgot to bring my ankle guard so I thought it'll be fine to play without it. I sprained it again. Same place, same thing, swelling and bruising. How long should I wait before resuming badminton? Also, could it be my shoe problem? I am wearing Mizuno shoes. I have small feet. The shoes fit me but may not be tight enough, which I think is why I sprained in the first place. But I tie my shoelaces tight. Someone is recommending Asics to me, but the last time I went there, their smallest size was too big for me. Do I really need to change shoes?
This is not a shoe problem but a rest problem. You need to heal for longer than 2 weeks to play on the ankle again during serious play. If you're just hitting around it's no problem, but when you get serious, 2 weeks healing is very little time. When you have a sprained ankle, you have a very high chance of spraining it again. How bad was the 1st sprain and the 2nd? Since you've sprained it twice in 2 weeks, I would say wait at least a month before you play again and ALWAYS have your ankle brace/guard on.
minor sprains. 1st was worse than 2nd. just a little bruising and swelling. on the 3rd day, i'm walking without any pain. it wasn't twice in 2 weeks. first one was Dec 3rd, second time was Jan 27th.
once you've recovered well enough, you should do some strengthening exercises, like rope skipping, balance board, foot work drills... in order to make sure this doesn't happen again
I tried to wear Asics volleyball shoes for better stability of the ankles and so on, but they felt too heavy, I'd rather stick to normal Badminton shoes and wear a ankle guard, jayyt.
As Visor and others have said, rest the ankle well, make sure no swelling/bruising before attempting going back on court, but make sure you wear an ankle brace on your weak ankle everytime you play, I keep my ankle support in my racket bag so I can't forget it. This is the strap I have been wearing for the last 18 months or so..., I've not gone over on my ankle once since using them, they are quite expensive, but well worth it. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MEDICAL-G...IPPLE-ACTION-PAIN-ABSORBING-PAD-/220991514668 Before you start playing competitively, you really should do some strengthening exercises to try and strenghthen the ligaments and tendons in the ankle. Cheers, Vaughn.
loose shoes is very prone to ankle sprain. the only time i had a bad sprain on my ankle was when i was just walking around in the court with a new pair of shoes and i didn't tighten the laces properly. it took me 6 months before the ankles feels normal again. shoes fit is utmost importance in badminton as we put so much strain on our feet and shoes. please go and get a pair that fits yourself. Mizuno shoes tend to be on the wider side. Asics do make badminton shoes and they are on the narrow side.
i think it could also be that your leg is so used to the ankle support that as soon as you played without it, the leg itself might not have the strength to support you. also, it might be your footwork or not getting used to the shoes? i have mizuno and yy shoes and they both work fine with me. if you sprained it just recently, doctors usually tell you a general six weeks. but since it's a second time i say be more cautious just to be on the safe side and be more sensitive to pain so that you won't damage your ankle permanently. wish you a speedy recovery!