Active Ankle T2 Supporters Club

[Freefall]

Apologies for the bad pun but following a search on earlier posts I decided to buy an Active Ankle T2 Support to try and end 30 years of painful ankle sprains. I have worn it on one training run and it seemed good. Just a few questions existing users might have answers to:
What exactly is the purpose of the small posterior strap? (it does goes round the back I think)
Is the support comfortable on skin or do people wear long socks underneath?
Anyone tried wearing it for a long time e.g mountain marathon or do they cause blisters?

The T2 will now join a fine collection of supports (my wife thinks I have an unhealthy or even kinky obsession with these). The collection now includes: ankle supports, knee support (post cartilage op), "athletic" support (post vasectomy), wrist support (broken mountain biking), tennis elbow strap, elbow support and sweatbands. Nothing available for the dislocated shoulder I suffer from...Can anyone improve on this list?

[liamcorner]

I've got a pair I've used on and off over the past couple of years, usually after an ankle sprain - taping doesn't seem to help me very much. No idea what that little strap is for. I always use long socks under them. Never used them for anything longer than abut 10k. A couple of minor rubs at first, avoided by minor adjustments and strategic foot taping. They do work well at preventing ankle sprains by pretty much eliminating all lateral rotation. However I now have reservations and am suspicious (as is my physio) that they contributed to my latest injury - a torn knee ligament. If you think about it, if your ankle isn't able to adjust to an uneven surface then the adjustment has to be made elsewhere, eg at the knee. I probably won't use them again and will be doing what I should have done long ago and invest in some custom orthotics (maybe combined with taping) to help alleviate my ankle problems.

[redkite]

The strap is simply to keep the support in position whilst you tighten with the main straps. Never found it to get in the way.

I only use at races and find, whilst it doesn't altogether stop you going over on your ankle it does goive you a fraction of a second warning that is sufficient so you can adjust and prevemnt anything too serious.

[FatBoy]

I would suggest ankle support or tapiing should only be used short term to protect an injury, unless your ankle has got to the point it's totally destroyed. I would agree with Liam that if you immobilise the ankle then further up the leg is where the shocks go. A few times when I've had tape on I've turned the ankle, hit the "stops" and simply fallen over. Once your ankle is strong again you should let your body work how it's supposed to.

Liam - interesting you say taping didn't work. How were you taping? Most orienteers seem to go for the simple stirrup which I've never found works on its own. I was shown (by a physio) a more sophisticated method which I find (with practise) does give you exactly the range of movement you need, i.e. up to the point it would cause more damage. I believe they're called "figure of 6's" - google seems to throw up a few diagrams.

[Freefall]

I would say my ankle is at the totally destroyed stage and unusually I seem to go over on it in the "wrong" direction. I have an appointment at the physios to talk specifically about orthotics and will take the device along for their amusement.

As to transferring the problem higher up the leg that is fair comment. My other knee was operated on in 1977 and 2001 so it should balance things up!

[runnerbean]

I'm a big fan of the T2s. After spraining my ankle for the umpteenth time on a training run in April which put me out of the British Champs, I have vowed never to run off road without them. I'll just have to take my chances with other "displacement" injuries. I used to wear lace-up supports, but think the T2s allow much better/more natural ankle movement. I also wear prescription orthotics with them and have used both together successfully in MMs without problems. Having said that, I do sometimes get pressure points on one side or the other, but this is usually solved my rotating them a fraction. I'm also a big fan of my orthotics which solved my long-standing knee problems. However, I do suspect that the cant on the orthotics contributed to more ankle turning incidents! If I get any other injuries, I'll have to resort to homeopathy as I don't have room in my shoes for any more devices!

[johnloguk]

I used to turn my ankles a lot when I first started orienteering, but very rarely these days. The guy at my sports injuries clinic was/is a big believer in taping after an injury, but only for the first few sessions once you felt able to run again. He said that always running with taping or a stiff support could not only transfer problems up the body (knees, pelvis and lower back), but it could also weaken the ankles over time. The logic is that if your ankles are always supported, then they lose their natural ability to stabilise twists and turns. The body gets lazy and waits for the support to stop the movement, rather than the messages from ankle to brain sorting it out. Taping certainly always worked for me, and got me running again quickly with no ill effects.

It's a different matter if your ankles are shot to pieces I guess. Then you need supports all the time just to get out running, or some extensive physio to strengthen them up again if possible.

I've a healthy scepticism about orthotics though. I can see how they can help correct gait issues when running on flat surfaces and treadmills, but how can they help off-road when the feet never go down the same way twice? Any small correction made by an orthotic must be out-weighed several times by the different angles with which your foot hits the ground at every step in a forest?

[Haze]

i started wearing active ankles during the uppsala tour this summer with the plan of wearing them in gradually. however i found my ankles couldnt cope with the rough swedish terrain and i ended up wearing them everyday.
by the end of the 2weeks i had severe pains down my shins/calves, both on the inside and the outside and found it almost impossible to complete a full days training.
i also ended up with large rectangular brusies on the outside of my calves which i think was due to the tough terrain and my ankles being thrown all over the place. these also added to my discomfort.
i found i got blisters when i wore them with mudclaws but not with my dobs however my dobs are now nothing like the shape they were before (they're now wider at the back).
so my advice would be not to wear them constantly. i now only wear them when during tough terrain runs and when orienteering. i also try and make sure i do ankle strenghtening exercises as often as possible. oh and also- dont tighen them too tight-you wont be able to feel your calves or feet!

[johnloguk]

I forgot another thing that my sports injuries guy always preaches, and it's been touched on in other threads. That is buying the right shoes to suit your feet and running gait in the first place. I suspect many motion problems are caused by people buying the wrong shoes for them.

Do you pronate or supinate? Are you a heavy or light runner? If you pronate then wearing shoes designed to compensate for over-supination are going to play havoc with half the joints in your body, and vice versa. If you are relatively heavy you need more cushioning than a lighter (don't you just hate 'em!) runner. Your weekly mileage matters too. Do you change your running shoes regularly, the shock absorbing qualities and motion control measures in them do wear out? Sore shins are usually my first warning sign that I need new running shoes.

I'm sure there are people out there more technically knowledgable than me about these things. Maybe Kitch or someone could write a definitive guide to running shoes, they are pretty fundamental to our sport?

[GML]

I don't so much go over on my ankles as jar them, usually when I put the front half of my foot down on a rock or branch that is higher than the surrounding ground, and which I haven't anticipated (usually because it is hidden under undergrowth). The result is not dissimilar from going over on an ankle, but tends to affect both sides of the foot rather than just one. Does anyone else suffer from this problem? Any suggestions as to how to avoid such injuries?

Thanks

[runnerbean]

The "strengthen your ankles so that they don't need supports" approach is fine in theory. That's what I was trying to do when I went over on one the last time!
johnloguk - isn't wearing orthotics just an extension of buying the right shoes?
I'm no expert on these matters, but maybe it's what happens to your feet/legs "on average" that counts. In my experience, I'm less likely to pull a calf muscle (for example) after orienteering than on an "equivalent" run on roads. And mountain marathons rarely seem to aggravate niggles that I've been worrying about beforehand. Maybe it's the higher intensity running that does me in.

[redkite]

I tend to find that I will go over on my ankle when I lose 'running concentration', such as when reading the map running on a path rather than when running on rough ground. A smal stone on a flat tarmaced path can cause more problems than an unexpected hole amongst rock strewn bracken.

Anyone else find this?

[Snail]

The likelihood of "going over" on an ankle is also influenced by shoe design - and in particular by the stud pattern / shape, since this determines where the foot will pivot, particularly on harder ground.

Many shoes have studs where the bottom of the studs (ie the bit in contact with the ground) is some way in from the edge of the shoe, so you don't need to bend the foot sideways much before "going over". This is particularly true if you are a bit bow-legged so have a tendency to land of the outside of the foot anyway. With other shoes the bottom of the studs is right at the edge of the shoe, so they are far more stable.

I used to go over on my ankle a lot - in one year so much so that I considered giving up the sport. But changing from VJs to Walshs solved the problem almost completely. For me the stud pattern / shape is now the primary requirement when considering a new shoe.

[Freefall]

I have just bought Walshes for the OMM but use VJs for orienteering. Interesting thoughts on stud pattern. I intend to try a few long days in the T2 to see how it goes but will keep the main pain till the actual event. Good replies on this thread so thanks a lot.

[roadrunner]

I don't so much go over on my ankles as jar them, usually when I put the front half of my foot down on a rock or branch that is higher than the surrounding ground, and which I haven't anticipated (usually because it is hidden under undergrowth). The result is not dissimilar from going over on an ankle, but tends to affect both sides of the foot rather than just one. Does anyone else suffer from this problem?

Yes - I've had this same problem a number of times. Like several others have said, my physio advised against using taping or ankle supports for too long, and for me this seems to have worked, in that my ankles have strengthened a bit - but maybe I don't push things as hard as I used to.