Do you tape your ankle before skiing

[skinut]

So I am just about to start skiing again after stuffing my ankle at the 5 ball. Ended up with a major sprain and some bone that was torn off the end my Fibula. I spent 4 weeks in a walking boot and now I am a week and a half into rehab. I think this week I will be good to go for skiing. I was wondering if many of you that have had ankle injuries use tape or an ankle brace when you ski. Are there other ways to protect your ankle?

[mwetskier]

non stretchy lace up ankle brace over tape and get an expert to teach you how to tape properly.

[ForrestGump]

Also, consider pre-taping spray which will keep the tape from getting loose in the water.

[MISkier]

I taped it a couple of times with athletic tape, but it actually made the binding harder to remove when the tape rolled and became sticky in contact with the binding. I also discovered that the binding (Wiley's) provided enough support that the tape wasn't required. My ankle (medial sprain) was not as bad as yours. I only required 10 days off before skiing again and I walked on it the entire time with only an Ace wrap. I am at week 8 and almost pain free. I have been able to run a couple of miles on it in the last 2 weeks, though it hurts the entire time.

[BCM]

After I had a similar ankle injury I used some regular medical tape and then wrapped in duct tape. Regular medical tape will fall apart in the water or will get stuck on your boots. Duct tape allowed me to stuff myself into my jumpers all taped up...

 

Get good duct tape though, the cheap-o stuff from Lowes/HD gets nasty when its in the sun or gets hot... Also, the duct tape ads some rigidity, but even with tape if I stuffed the tip it hurt.

[PatM]

Just getting over the same exact injury. I wasn't in a boot, but just got back to skiing this past weekend (4 weeks from injury). I am using a lace up brace that my ortho recommended. http://www.amazon.com/Ankle-Stabilizer-Orthosis-Black-Large/dp/B001UC3OZ0/ref=sr_1_2?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1376494757&sr=1-2&keywords=lace+up+ankle+brace

It is working well, skiing just 28s and a few 32s, but it is responding well. Good luck

[Craig]

I had a similar injury several years back.

 

I did what @BCM did and echo what @mwetskier said. If you go this route, get at PT to teach you how to tape it correctly, and add a layer of duck tape (not HVAC duct tape).

 

I was on the water about 6 weeks after the injury and taped before skiing for about 8 weeks after I started skiing again (with lots of rehab), but YMMV.

[PatM]

@skinut this helped also. http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/rehabilitation-exercises-for-an-ankle-sprain#

[matthewbrown]

ask @liquidd he's been taping up since he was 9

[MrJones]

I had a super nasty sprain at the first big dawg and taped the entire next year. Broke same ankle in '10 and taped the rest of the season. It does give Some support, but may help you head just as much.

Get some quick drying adherent (QDA), pre wrap, and quality duct tape as it is stiffer. It won't lay neatly like athletic tape, but is much easier in-out of rubber bindings. Look up how to tape on you tube. Good luck.

[SkiJay]

@skinut Something else to consider would be Prolo Theropy, or better still, but more expensive, PRT (plasma-rich theropy). Ligaments and tendons don't heal well because of lousy blood circulation. Prolo and PRT tricks the body into an extended healing cycle, essentially bulking up the targeted ligaments with scar tissue that is stronger than new. I did an ankle that I kept spraining, and haven't sprained it since, despite a few good tries. NFL and NHL players get a LOT of this therapy. I had treatment number three of four on my knee this morning.

[skinut]

Thanks for all the input. I'll try my lace up support and see how that goes.

[liquid d]

yes! it all started when we used to take hydroslides over a ramp...bad for your ankles.

@matthewbrown, just got 2 fresh rolls of duct tape from Ace hardware for all that skiing I'm planning on doing this week!!!!booooyaaahhh!

[liquid d]

Duct/ducky even comes in patterns.. tape works the best. You have to experiment with types to find out which works best for you..some too thin, some too thick. @skinut, braces don't work. You'll get good at it within a few weeks.

[Brady]

How do you do the wrap? Similar to how you would tape your ankle with regular tape?

[jipster43]

I was planning on taping when I returned from my broken ankle, but my ortho got such a hardy laugh from the idea of it that I abandoned the notion. My ankle would swell and ache after each set, but after about 6 weeks back on the ski it has almost completely subsided.

 

Good luck with the recovery! You may want to try duct taping your brain for a month. I know I wanted/want to.

[liquid d]

I must have used the wrong tape......pppphfffftttt!!!!