Brace Yourself
A much debated topic in the volleyball world is whether or not ankle braces are beneficial or not.
Some Supporting Details
Ankle braces can be helpful if someone is recovering from an ankle injury. I know from personal expeirence of spraining an ankle that my ankles were weak. Wearing the braces after physical therapy helped emensly with developing the stregth back into my ankles. After three years of wearing the ankle brace i feel that my ankle is now strong enough to withstand the game without wearing an ankle brace because i feel it hinders my ankle flexibility.
Breaking Down The Debate
Some people wear ankle braces to prevent injury. But there are many stories of athletes breaking their leg because their braces did not allow the athlete to fall correctly to the ground when rolling an ankle. Bjorn Dahl, a San Dieguito High School graduate who went on to play at Long Beach State, almost did not get to play volleyball at LBS when he broke his leg at club practice. He was wearing ankle braces and when he feel the braces held him back from rolling his ankle but then broke his leg with the bone popping out. i would post a picture or some sort of video demonstrating this but it might cause some upset stomachs.
The Ankle Braces
Here are some top ankle braces according to Volleyballhut.com
Malleoloc Ankle Brace
Ankle Lok®
Ankle Support
T1 Active Ankle Brace
Speed Lace Ankle Brace With Heel Lock Straps
Coach J