Category: Rigid Strapping Tape

How to Strap an Ankle

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: 

Preparation to Tape an Ankle

For optimum results when taping the ankle, it is recommended to prepare the ankle by doing the following:

  • Ankle ProtectionShave 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