Dear Forumners, Over the past couple of months I have twisted my ankle over 3 times. The last incident happened a couple of nights ago and that particular incident got me scared initially because I was expecting the worse but my ankle is just swollen right now. This has happened to both ankles now. I only started playing again early this year after leaving the game for over 10 years and now i'm playing 3-4 times a week. Please share any experience and advise/tips for me to avoid further worse injuries. My issue at the moment is that I still want to play 3-4 times a week.
Warm up and stretch like crazy. Learn how to properly footwork. If you jump, make sure that you land with your legs forming a triangle. Wear an ankkle guard for the time being. Let your ankle heal until the swelling comes down. If you don't and persist playing 4 times a week and keep making injury, it will never heal. Better let it heal than to have lifetime consequences in the end, with the perspective of not playing badminton for the rest of your life...
If you insist on playing, wear ankle supports on both ankles, get the traditional type (elastic), do NOT get the Nike ones as they don't offer enough support. The best choice will be going to physio therapy and take time off to let it rest. BTW, what type of shoes do you wear to play?
Are you rolling the ankle? If your shoes are very narrow, you may have a tendency to roll your ankle to the side. Are the sides of your shoe tread rounded as to make this easy to do?
Stretch the ankle ligaments as part of your warm-up...roll both ankles out so that you are standing on the sides of your shoes (more or less)...this will stretch ligs and when you roll ankle while playing damage will be minimal...also strengthen ankles by doing tip toe exercises.
hmm... agree with Kwun... I'd question your footwear. Court shoes will offer optimum support & help with balance in badminton... I used to roll my ankles a lot wearing big lunky cross trainers for jogging... I then switched to proper running shoes, and have not had any rolled ankles since.
(1) proper shoes; (2) proper warm up. at least 15 mins with emphasis on ankles: a. slightly stretch and twist your angles at all directions (esp outwards directions). b. try to lift ur body up n stand on toes, hold, down, up, hold, down.... c. low jumps by only toes (legs straight).... you either (1) use supports to protect your ankles or (2) exercise your ankles to be stronger, so when ankles are slightly twisted, they are strong enough to hold themself not to get twisted or (3) both. i.e. exercise with no supports when train and put on supports when play games.
Recurrent Ankle Sprain You need to have a doctor (Sports Physician or Orthopaedic Surgeon) have a look at it to rule out Ankle Instability. You probably need to be on a rehabilitation program and get back your sense of balance and position. It can be as long as a 12 week program but light skills should not be a problem (depending on severity). Try taping your ankle before training. Ankle supports or braces may not provide you with sufficient flexibility for footwork. Most of my athletes who have recurrent ankle instability have a routine given by the physiotherapist in their training to prevent recurrence. You could read more in my blog at http://sportsnmedicine.blogspot.com.
1) What type of shoes are you wearing? 2) Work on improving your footwork 3) Slow down, you are probably moving a bit too fast for your feet and body to stayed balanced. 4) See # 2.
I've sprained my ankle twice quite seriously, both times I'd been playing demandingly for several hours, so I was tired and my footwork got lazy, causing me to go off balance. It also had to do with my feet getting sweaty and my badminton shoes not tightened enough. So now, I always wear an ankle guard on my right ankle and I also make sure my shoes have been tightened. Also try to improve your footwork, so that your balance is better.
hi rendra, you also consider this... http://www.return2fitness.co.uk/Supports_And_Braces/Ankle_Supports
a footwork tip that seems obvious but if you dont know it, youll roll your ankle constantly when lunging, make sure you lunge with your raquet arm foot (eg right handed = right foot) and that your foot is pointing straight, not sideways. Lunge with your toes pointing in the direction that you are lunging.
This is a good point. Rendra, is there a particular footwork movement -- lunging, pivoting, moving to the side, etc -- that appears to be the culprit? Most of us have assumed that you've rolling the ankle. Is that what is happening? Are your shoes or the floor where you play grabbing too much for pivoting or some other footwork maneuver?
thanks! i have spent a little more extra time to do these exercises. great advise! thanks for taking the time
good questions...i usually get it when im moving to the side so what usually happens is i end up with the outer side of my foot slamming the floor. so it could be due to my foot grabbing the floor too much which could also mean that my footwork for that particular "move" just isn't good enough.
As far as shoes are concerned...I have a pair of adidas stabil6 that i played with before and twisted my right ankle twice with it. i thought it was perhaps the "extra" thick soles on these shoes that maybe caused my ankles to twist so i now wear Ashaway Idaho's, which are not as "thick" as the adidas.the lesser padding does cause other strains but it solved my ankle-twisting problem for about a month...then it happened again this time with my weaker left ankle! i am not a such a beginner as i have played tennis and badminton almost all of my adult life.i used to be a very active sportsman when i was in high school playing rugby, soccer, basketball and tennis for my school, and playing badminton quite frequently as well. I am now 36 and have left active sports for quite some time (7 years) so maybe its the age as well that's catching up on me. I appreciate all the advise and will definitely take heed on all of them. At the same time, I am also looking for another pair of shoes that can assist me with my problem. i appreciate the advise from sportsdoc and will look into getting into something a little more intensive to help me with my ankles.