Jumping for shots, blocking opponents at the basket and rushing for rebounds make the fast-paced game of high school basketball an arena for injuries.
What Bob Rausch has seen in his seven years as an athletic trainer for St. John's High School includes many ankle injuries on basketball players, several of them caused by opponent players accidentally landing or rolling over their feet.
David Hess, boys' basketball coach at Tuscola High School in Central Illinois, can attest to these ankle injuries. According to Hess, sprained ankles are often seen as well. He has also witnessed torn ligaments, jammed fingers and knee injuries caused by the many jumps basketball players do both in practice and in games.
"I would say ankle [injuries] occur most in basketball [due to] contact with a lot of jumping," said Hess.
To strengthen the ankles of his players, Hess emphasizes preparation through warm-ups and strength training. Through this, Hess said, "you're going to turn a four-week ankle sprain into a one-week ankle sprain," therefore ensuring fast recovery of a fallen player.
Through building strength around key ligaments impacted by basketball, injuries are prevented or the seriousness of injuries are diminished, added Hess.
For any injuries that occur in practice or during a game, athletic trainers are usually on the sidelines ready to treat any pain that strikes the basketball players. Taping ankles is one way to relieve the pain during important games.
However, if "you're always taping, the ankle become dependent on the tape," said Hess. To prevent this, players strengthen their ankles and are trained to endure an ankle pain during practice.
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