Ankle sprains, pain, and instability are understandable in as much as the foot contains 26 bones, 33 joints, 107 ligaments and 19 muscles, which individually or in combination can be over exercised, over stretched, ruptured, or, if bone, broken.

Primary causes of injury to the ankle occur when stout ligaments (lateral talocalconeal, calcaneo- fibular, post talofibular or anterior talofibular) connecting bones of the ankle encounter the aforementioned conditions. These injuries are very common and can be caused by simply twisting an ankle or undergoing more severe trauma to bones or connective tissue. Ankle sprains are graded in numerical terms from one through three, with three being the most severe, which normally takes a longer time for recovery.

Recommended treatment for all three degrees of ankle sprains are the same. The injured ankle should be compressed with an elastic type bandage, cryotherapy (cold) applied, and the ankle elevated to permit the compression and gravity to reduce edema (swelling) associated with ankle injuries.

Once swelling has subsided a soft sided ankle brace is an effective means of protecting a weak or injured ankle from further problems.  The ankle brace is worn over a sock and will easily fit into a golf, tennis, or dress shoe.  If a person has naturally weak ankles, then it is advisable to wear ankle braces on both feet to protect against, or reduce the degree of a future injury.