Taping Ankles/Skates for Support

[ibiza_955]

During todays game, CBC showed a clip of Marty Biron heavily taping the outside of his skates around his ankles. I've been thinking about trying this myself but I've heard it could negatively affect mobility. However the more I think about it, a loose "floppy" skate, probably provides some extra mobility, but I would think a properly supported ankle would provide a more efficient, harder lateral push. A looser skate probably has higher potential energy loss.

There's been a few threads about this topic but it doesn't seem to be a common practice. But this is the first time I've seen an NHL goalie do it so there must be something to it. I'm planning on trying it tomorrow on the ice.

Does anyone else know of any other Pro goalies doing this and is this a common practice?

[masonbuchanan]

i'd like to try it but i'd hate to spend $20 on tape every icetime.

[daffy]

I saw that too. I am in the midst of buying new pads and kinda decided on BHG for a deeper boot channel to support my weaker ankle. But after seeing that, maybe I can still wear a Velo and get some support with the tape. I hate spending that much on tape too. Maybe the team will pitch in and help me out.

[bc30]

Biron uses the tape because he refuses to get new skates, and the ones he wears are broken down. With a properly fitting quality skate, the tape should be unnecessary.

[GoalieMike99]

Originally Posted by bc30

Biron uses the tape because he refuses to get new skates, and the ones he wears are broken down. With a properly fitting quality skate, the tape should be unnecessary.

For real?

[justdaman11]

i think i heard once that Biron still wears the skates he wore in juniors

[B529G]

I just recently tried it just because I felt I wanted a little more support in my ankles. I thought I needed new skates, but my vectors still fit and really are in decent shape. I just went around the second and third eyelet down from the top 2 times and it did the trick.

[ThePM]

Originally Posted by GoalieMike99

For real?

Yes. They are actually over-used skates, and the only reason he tapes them that much is to literally hold them together. You should only need to wrap around 2-5 times, max to get a tight fit assuming it's a decent skate. I wrap it 2 and a half times around each ankle and it works wonders.

[pens4life29]

Isn't this supposed to weaken your ankles over time? In the long run, making taping them not worth it?

[goalies-r-us]

Here's an experiment -- put arch support inserts in your skates and see if that makes a difference. Seriously.

I think most of you have seen my kid with the silly-putty joints... well, he got that from me. I think I've suffered more sprained ankles than just about anyone on the planet. According to "the medical profession", taping your ankle doesn't truly offer any "support" unless you're actually in a splint or other immobilizing device.... which of course means that you can't bend the joint.

Anyway, back to my idea -- take a look at your ankle's angle (try saying that five times fast!) when standing straight up, and then again when in your stance (on the inside edge of your skates). You don't even need to put your skates on, you can picture it in your head -- ankles straight when standing straight, ankles "bent in" when standing in your stance.

Now imagine, in your stance "bent in" position, if there was something underneath the inside edge of your foot, lifting/rotating it just a tad -- what does your ankle angle look like now?

An arch support should lift your foot's inside edge a tad so that your ankle is in a more neutral position when in your stance. (I'm not a doctor, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express a couple weeks ago!) Go ahead and give it a try. Use actual ARCH SUPPORTS though, not just a Dr. Scholl's foam or gel insert. You want something that stays fairly firm when your foot presses on it, not something that compresses completely. (Some arch supports are even adjustable, with a little bendy-clip thing you switch out for a stiffer or looser one as needed.)

Personally, I'm not a goalie, and I don't have flat feet. (One way to check for flatfootedness is to walk on concrete with wet feet -- if you leave a Sasquatch-type footprint, you have flat feet, if you have that c-shaped footprint, you don't.) But with my floppy ankle joints, I developed Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome (like carpal tunnel in your hands, only in your feet instead) when I was skating a lot with Dom's mini-mite team a few years ago. I actually lost all the feeling in the toes of one foot because of it.... and within a couple weeks of wearing the arch supports in my skates, my feet were fine (and have been ever since).

You're looking at a one-time investment of $5-$20 for arch supports, depending on whether you go for a Festiva or a Corvette. And since they're the firm kind instead of the foamy kind, they don't break down and need to be replaced like a sole insert does. I haven't thrown out a pair yet....

[njt42]

I used to tape my ankles because I had poor fitting skates now I bought pro level correct fitting skates, and I don't have to tape anymore!!

[Brock Manson]

I wear ankle supports so that my ankles don't move about in my skate as much.

My old coach told me to do it so that I could push off better and help my skating. Seems to have done so.

[ariesgroove]

I saw the video on Biron on CBC and his skates are 12 years old. He tapes them because they are old and have no support. He doesn't tape his ankles due to weak ankles. Taping your ankles for support is okay in the short term to help after an injuryto prevent re-injury, but you will eventually need to strengthen your feet and ankle muscles to gain full strength of injured ankle.

[paulsmachetti]

Originally Posted by GoalieMike99

For real?

uh.... yeah...... for real.

[whalercane]

This is gonna sound weird, but I tape across the top part of my skate boot/ankles simply to keep my laces from coming untied. I should probably just get longer laces but this seems to work for me just fine; doesn't affect my stability or mobility either way.

-Ryan