EFFECTIVENESS OF EXTERNAL ANKLE SUPPORT - BRACING AND TAPING IN RUGBYUNION

Ankle inversion sprain is common in rugby. This review outlines resear ch evidence relating to the effects of external ankle support by means of bracing and taping, on the incidence of ankle injuries, how perfor mance is affected by support, how support may act at the joint (with r espect to end range of motion, strength, resistive torque, muscle acti vation patterns and proprioception) to prevent injury, and how exercis e changes the effectiveness of support. In addition, the implications of the laws of rugby for the use of external support are discussed. Pr ospective epidemiological studies have shown a decrease in the inciden ce of ankle injury with external ankle support use. The effectiveness of external ankle support was dependent upon the material properties a nd application method of the tape or brace, and on the athlete's statu s of ankle stability or previous injury. Experimental studies have ind icated that the degree of ankle inversion restriction provided, and th e degree of loss of restriction after exercise, were dependent upon th e external support tested. External ankle support has been reported to have no effect on performance, or to have an adverse effect on perfor mance in a variety of movement tasks, No prophylactic external ankle s upport has been shown to improve performance. If an external support i s to provide mechanical support to a ligament it should exceed the str ength of the ligament, which for the anterior fibular ligament is a fo rce limit of between 6 and 56kg. Tape can provide only limited mechani cal support of the ankle joint complex, but it may have proprioceptive effects. Taping may work as a psychological reminder, so that the ath lete consciously moderates lower limb-loading behaviour. There is equi vocal evidence of the effect of brace use on ground reaction force exc ursions, balance ability and ankle strength. It is concluded that whil e there have been many investigations of the effects of tape and some forms of brace an ankle range of motion with and without exercise, the re is equivocal evidence regarding the mechanism by which an external support acts. It is recommended that future research address the effec ts of external ankle support during dynamic exercise and that brace ma nufacturers utilise the information in the development of future brace designs to help reduce the risk of ankle inversion sprain injury. As external support can decrease the incidence of ankle inversion sprain the International Rugby Board should consider the use of ankle braces in rugby, allowing for stiff lateral components of the brace.