Our military infantry can stay in the fight and get through training with reduced injuries. Ankle strain, sprain, improper movement, or injury can affect the six most common infantry training injuries. Here we will review each injury, and its' relationship to the ankle:
1. Patellofemoral pain syndrome (or PFPS) - a common issue among those who undergo high-impact activities, like running while wearing a heavy pack.
The journal of sports medicine hypothesized through case control and reliability study that a potential intrinsic risk factor in the development of PFPS is the presence of excessively pronated foot posture. The TayCo Athletic Brace can fit over military approved boots and PT shoes to help prophylactically support the ankle to assist in maintaining proper foot posture.
2. Hamstring Pulls - the hamstring helps flex and straighten the knee joint.
So, if an infantryman hurts this important muscle, they might be out of the fight for a while. The Journal of Foot and Ankle Research concluded in 2018 that athletes with a preceding ankle injury had a statistically significantly higher chance of experiencing a subsequent hamstring injury compared with athletes who had experienced a hamstring injury as their first traumatic event (x2 = 4.245, p = 0.039). Wearing the TayCo Athletic Brace prophylactically can help reduce the incidence of ankle injury, and potentially hamstring injury as well.
3. Lumbago - this medical term refers to pain located in the lower back.
The Journal of Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation reports through a systematic review of podiatrical deviations on nonspecific chronic low back pain that ankle and foot deviations can be considered a potential cause for LBP due to the disruption of the kinetic chain from the foot to the back. Clinicians should consider the foot and ankle when addressing LBP, especially if more conventional etiologies fail to describe the condition. The TayCo Athletic Brace can reduce ankle instability, and when recovering from ankle injury the TayCo XAB can maintain a normal kinetic chain from the foot to the back.
4. Shin Splints - or medically referred to as Medial tibial stress syndrome (MTSS), is a common overuse injury of the lower extremities affecting a large percentage of athletes.
Doctors from Ravi Nair Physiotherapy College and Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences noted that a variety of factors can lead to shin splints, including overtraining, poor footwear, muscular imbalances at the ankle, overtight or weak triceps surae muscles, imbalances at the thoracolumbar complex, and a body mass index (BMI) above 30. The TayCo Athletic Brace can help reduce muscular imbalances at the ankle when worn prophylactically during training to help reduce shin splint incidence.
5. IT Band Syndrome - or ITBS is where a tendon called the iliotibial band gets irritated or swollen from rubbing against your hip or knee bones.
The Cleveland Clinic reports that rotating your ankle, leg or foot inward when you move can be a contributing cause of ITBS. The TayCo Athletic Brace can help prevent the improper rotation of the ankle during movement to help our troops stay in the fight longer.
6. Ankle Sprains - Commonly known as a "twisted ankle," this is one of the most highly diagnosed injuries to the lower leg due to inversion.
The TayCo Athletic Brace was created by Mike Bean to help elite level athletes avoid and continue to play through ankle sprains. The same innovative technology can help keep our infantry and troops in the fight while the TayCo XAB can help reduce the time it takes to heal.
