best shoes for ankle support?

Alright so i have sprained my ankle 9 times in the last year and its starting to get annoying. Most of the sprains have come from basketball but some from tennis. Right now I am just using some crappy wilson shoes that have no ankle support what so ever. I am wondering what are some decent priced shoes that have good ankle support?

Adidas Barricades, no question about it. Some of the best shoes ever made.

Decent priced? The best you can get are Match Day Pumps (Reebok) for support and cushioning.

Barricades are only average. Get whatever fits your foot that it low to the ground and doesn't have a raised heel.

The old Barricade II'd come in a midtop which gives me some great ankle support. It gives me a great basketball shoe type support, with much more durability.

ASO ANKLE BRACES. If you have ankle problems do not ignore it, the shoes won't always prevent the roll, these will.

benne said:

ASO ANKLE BRACES. If you have ankle problems do not ignore it, the shoes won't always prevent the roll, these will.

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Second that. Many threads on here touting the virtues of ASO braces.

Also, Prince has a shoe called the Viper IV that is 3/4 rise. It's not available at TW, so google it.

You could also try McDavid. They are a few bucks less then aso and are made in the usa.

Babb said:

Also, Prince has a shoe called the Viper IV that is 3/4 rise. It's not available at TW, so google it.

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Mids or high-tops are worthless for ankle support. Structure and height of the footbed are what matters in shoes.

^^^
Well then why do they make them...?

^^
They actually don't make them much these days because they aren't very effective. The Nike Breathe line of shoes all have additional overhang on the sole towards the outsides of the balls of ones feet that prevent rolling.

Babb said:

^^^
Well then why do they make them...?

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To sell more shoes. Even in basketball where ankle sprains are very commonplace from landing on other people's feet, high-tops are no better than low-tops in preventing inversion ankle sprains.

I'm not talking about BS lab setting studies, I'm talking about the real field studies.

If you need support/protection, buy quality braces. There are TONS of different brands, styles and configurations.

please buy yourself ASO ankle braces, don't settle for anything less because if you have chronic sprain problems, you need that support

also, barricades are good, i wear the asics gel resolutions and love the support they give, and they also have much more comfortable cushioning than the barricades in my opinion.

you need to start strengthening your ankles. there are a bunch of websites if you just google "ankle strength" or something. that is vital if you want to get over this ankle problem

Yeah, i tear up my ankles. Nobody I know has ever seen someone roll their ankle more than me, I can do it just walking somewhere on grass. I can feel it quickly and react so it doesn't sprain now but yeah. I've destroyed each of my ankles once, absolute black everywhere, shin- foot all bruised (along with all toes sprained) my first match back in the season after one i got the ASO's and i remember landing on my side of the foot for an angle get, and the brace held me (at the time a 235lb doubles beast.)


ASO's are the best out there, hands down, don't settle for less, i hate sounding like a spokesperson but i regret everytime i get too lazy to put them on and roll my ankle shooting around on a b-ball court.

There are other activities in which supple stretchable ankles are a benefit - unfortunately tennis is not one of them.

I did ankle sprains so often and seriously over a season that I've had an ASO brace on the one ankle for years. No rolled ankles ever since...

benne said:

Yeah, i tear up my ankles. Nobody I know has ever seen someone roll their ankle more than me, I can do it just walking somewhere on grass. I can feel it quickly and react so it doesn't sprain now but yeah. I've destroyed each of my ankles once, absolute black everywhere, shin- foot all bruised (along with all toes sprained) my first match back in the season after one i got the ASO's and i remember landing on my side of the foot for an angle get, and the brace held me (at the time a 235lb doubles beast.)


ASO's are the best out there, hands down, don't settle for less, i hate sounding like a spokesperson but i regret everytime i get too lazy to put them on and roll my ankle shooting around on a b-ball court.

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Many people on these boards claim the McDavid's are the same thing as the ASOs. IMO, this is not true. I think the ASOs are better constructed, made of higher quality materials, and are more supportive. I own ASOs. I tried on McDavids and passed in favor of the ASOs.

McDavid, ASO, Kallassy (choice of the ATP), Baeurfeind, Donjoy, Active Ankle, etc. are all good. Just find the one that fits your foot the best and gives you the most protection with the most comfort and least restriction to movement.

El Guapo said:

To sell more shoes. Even in basketball where ankle sprains are very commonplace from landing on other people's feet, high-tops are no better than low-tops in preventing inversion ankle sprains.

I'm not talking about BS lab setting studies, I'm talking about the real field studies.

If you need support/protection, buy quality braces. There are TONS of different brands, styles and configurations.

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El Guapo is right. High and mid top shoes don't provide any actual benefit in terms of support. There is some evidence that they may help slightly via biofeedback (essentially, the feeling of the high top acts as a tactile reminder to orient your foot correctly, but doesn't provide actual support in a rollover), but it's not much. A good medically validated ankle brace is the best course.

However, there's another factor that hasn't been mentioned on this thread. Almost everyone's feet either pronate or supinate somewhat, causing instability at the point of foot strike, and increasing the risk of rollover. One of the best preventatives is having a good solid, neutral base for your foot to strike. (Some posters did suggest particular shoes that they felt were good in this regard, but these don't help feet that aren't neutral.) This base will reduce the incidence of rollover and the only way to get it, unless you happen to have a perfectly balanced neutral foot is to get a good set of professionally made orthotics. The aftermarket versions (Superfeet, Spenco, etc.) are really just insoles and don't help at all. Go to a sports podiatry expert and get fitted with orthotics that place your ankles in a neutral position. Orthotics combined with good ankle braces are your best bet. Once you're prone to ankle problems, no shoe on the market will make an appreciable difference.

Also, if you have access to a good sports trainer, they can do a tape job (or even teach you to do one) that will outperform most braces and take up less space in your shoe.

^^I find taping annoyingly expensive, but I agree it provides superior support.

I really wanted to believe that "High and mid top shoes" provided better support but now I'm not so sure. An inch of leather up top isn't placed at where the action occurs which is as you point out at the foot strike. So the ankle is rather where the "reaction" occurs. To get to the base of the problem is as you point out to get to the pro/supination of the foot.

The trouble with orthotics is perhaps expense or losing one or not having them in your bag when you need them that sort of thing I imagine would really get annoying, yet they must be worht it for many. But then do you need orthotics in your everyday shoes as well? Or does playing tennis point up the problem by virtue of moer extremem movement??

dont yonex shoes give pretty good ankle support? well any way, barricades give an ok ankle support.

bertrevert said:

^^I find taping annoyingly expensive, but I agree it provides superior support.

I really wanted to believe that "High and mid top shoes" provided better support but now I'm not so sure. An inch of leather up top isn't placed at where the action occurs which is as you point out at the foot strike. So the ankle is rather where the "reaction" occurs. To get to the base of the problem is as you point out to get to the pro/supination of the foot.

The trouble with orthotics is perhaps expense or losing one or not having them in your bag when you need them that sort of thing I imagine would really get annoying, yet they must be worht it for many. But then do you need orthotics in your everyday shoes as well? Or does playing tennis point up the problem by virtue of moer extremem movement??

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Orthotics can help with any sport (even winter sports, where skiers and boarders often get custom footbeds) and even with every day walking around. Obviously, the degree of your problem and the amount of correction will determine whether you need them in your everyday shoes, but most people don't bother putting them in street shoes unless they have serious orthopedic issues. Certainly tennis, or any other sport with lateral movement and stress, provides a greater need for proper support and alignment.

In terms of expense, I'd say the injury and rehab cost more. As for losing one or not having it in your bag, that can happen with your shoes or racquet as well, but you still use those...

^^ Thanks, losing a racquet is a worst-case scenario...!

Speaking of the medical side of things I'm going to have to go over to the Health & Fitness forum and hopefully figure out a persistent tight tendon foot pain - I've been exploring shoes in order to lessen the (6 months) of pain - no luck, ach!

I know, I know - self diagnosis using the internet is a curse,... thanks again