Knowing how to strap an ankle properly is important for both injury prevention and sport injury management in sports people and athletes.
The most common ankle injury is the inversion ankle injury, where the lateral ligaments on the outside of the ankle can be strained or damaged.
Learn to Strap an Ankle from an Expert
I would like to share with you a video that shows a great technique for supporting the ankle using Sports Tape, courtesy of highly experienced Sports Trainer, Cam Wray, who has worked with England, South Africa, Australian Universities, the Australian Barbarians, Canada 7’s, Argentina 7’s and the Qld Reds rugby teams. Enjoy!
How To Strap an Ankle
As you can see from the video, Cam’s method is both efficient and effective with the use of anchors, 2-3 stirrups and 2 calcaneal sling techniques (half heal locks) on opposite sides.
Using the correct ankle strapping techniques is important, as is the quality of supplies you use for the job.
What items do you need to Strap an Ankle?
To start off on the right foot (pardon the pun), to strap an ankle properly, you will need the following items to tape your ankle:
Optional items you may wish to use:
$28.50
Preparation to Tape an Ankle
For optimum results when taping the ankle, it is recommended to prepare the ankle by doing the following:
Shave off any hair around the area on the ankle being taped.- Cover any wounds with Non-Stick Wound pads
- Use Orthopedic foam padding to protect any tender areas at the sides, front or top of the ankle or back of the achillies.
Correct Tape Tension
Its also important that the ankle is not taped to tight, as it will prevent the blood flow around the ankle and restrict movement, and even cause rubbing and skin abrasion.
To strap an ankle to the correct tension, a good test to do is the skin pinch test either side of the strapped area, and if the skin returns to its natural color immediately after the pinch test then the taping tension is right.
Did this Article Help?
This article is the first of many SportStrap’s “How To Strap A …….” series, so if you found this article helpful please complete the following:
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Have a most outstanding day,
Cade Arnel
SportStrap.com.au
Having two teenage boys, it’s definitely worth knowing how to strap an ankle. It’s also worth stocking up on some tape – just in case! Keep some at home – and also in your car’s first aid box.
Hi Jan.
Yeah its definitely worth having some tape at hand – just in case you roll an ankle or something
Hi,
If I had only seen this article 10 years ago when I was still a big fan of soccer. Back then I sprained my ankle countless times. This article is really helpful to fans of sports involving legs. Thank you!
Regards,
Wilson
do you have a video of cam doing elbow taping and knees
Hi Sheree,
Yes are planning on doing a whole series of videos and articles, so I will make sure we cover Elbows & Knee (Medial) Strapping.
I will have another article up next week hopefully.
Cheers,
Cade
A video of ankle taping would be terrific. One of my sons is prone to ankle injury after he injured his ankle when he was little on a trampoline. After that his ankle often needed strapping as he was/is sports mad- footy, soccer, cricket when he was younger now surfing and cricket, still footy , not to mention the odd game of golf. Come to think of it, I will just pass the link of your site on to him.
I never realised how important it was to strap an ankle (with tape) in a certain way for support! The video was so good because it explained the technique, as well as showed the technique…such a great way to learn how to support an ankle before playing sports.
Cheers
Lisa
Great video to show the correct way to strap an ankle. I will pass it on to sports fans I know – my own children are more into rowing then running and I am fortunate none of them have had any injuries playing sport.
Although I’ve never had to know how to strap an ankle, this now seems pretty straight forward – it’s pretty much three simple strap techniques combined. Nice and easy to follow with good commentary
hello,
i’m a water skier, and i’m always hurting my nakle and i strap in when ever i’m skiing or doing any sports.. but it really does not help.. can anyone please tell me the best way to strap my ankle?
Hi,
i recently purchased a set of crutches from Sportstrap. The size i ordered was the incorrect size and this was my mistake. Cade at Sportstrap had no hesitation in swapping them for the correct pair. I have no hesitation in recommending this company to others who want a reliable supplier of quality products as those supplied by Sportstrap.
Luke Platt
Thanks for the great feedback Luke.
We are happy to help 🙂