Is taping your ankles worth it? What Physiotherapists and Coaches Say in 2025

Is Taping Your Ankles Worth It? What Physiotherapists & Coaches Say in 2025

In sports like basketball, where sudden cuts, jumps, and landings are constant, ankle injuries are nearly unavoidable.  Ankle sprains are the most common lower extremity injury in basketball.  An ankle sprain is a stretch or tear of the ligaments that support the joint and can range in severity from Grade I-III. For decades, taping has been a go-to strategy for preventing these sprains. But in 2025, are athletes better off with tape or are ankle braces now the smarter choice? Let’s break down what today’s physiotherapists and coaches are saying.

 

Taping: Tradition Meets Limitations

Taping the ankle before games or practice has been a long-standing ritual, especially in sports like basketball. It provides compression and a sense of ankle support, helping to reduce excessive movement that leads to sprains. However, when athletic trainers use heavy athletic tape, it makes the ankle more rigid and less flexibility which can lead to muscles not activating correctly.  This puts other structures at risks such as the knees 

 

What do experts in 2025 agree on: tape loses effectiveness quickly.

While tape might have short term benefits there has been thoughts that it could lose its effectiveness during competition. In a 2014 study looking at mechanical effectiveness of external ankle tape before professional soccer performance they found that the protection declined nearly completely after 45 minutes.  Passive inversion restriction was at 50.3% during initial tape but after 45 minutes it declined to a nonsignificant restricted ROM of 9.7%¹ Taping also requires skill and time. Coaches often need trained staff to do it properly, and athletes may not be consistent when self-taping.

Ankle Braces: More Durable Support

Ankle braces especially those designed for basketball offer an alternative to tape that’s gaining more popularity based on pro athletes such as Stephen Curry and Trae Young who use Zamst style ankle braces. Basketball ankle braces are engineered to deliver stability without compromising mobility. They strap on quickly, stay tight, and are reusable.  Braces such as the Zamst Filmista and A1 brace offers mild to moderate support that is a low profile, breathable and easy to fit.

 

Are coaches pushing for players to wear ankle braces?

In a study of high school coaches, they would that while coaches tend to agree that wearing a brace lowers their risk for injury they did not actively encourage their players to use ankle braces.^2. However, when it comes to women basketball at the high school level there are more coaches that require their players to wear ankle braces because of the increase in lower body injuries in adolescents. Braces also remove the variability that comes with taping. Every time an athlete wears a brace, they’re getting consistent ankle support, unlike tape jobs that can reduce its effectiveness after 45 minutes of performance.

One concern some athletes express is whether ankle braces or tape can hinder performance. But recent studies suggest that while ankle mobility is slightly restricted, it does not significantly impact speed or vertical leap especially not when compared to the performance drop from dealing with an injury.

In Summary

Whether you’re a pro athlete or a weekend warrior, protecting your ankles is essential. The right ankle support can be the difference between staying in the game or spending weeks on the sideline.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

EVAN JEFFRIES is a physical therapist with a Doctorate in Physical Therapy (DPT) from the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences.  He is also the owner of Evolving Motion Physical Therapy and has vast knowledge of the musculoskeletal system and has treated many orthopedic conditions by bringing a proactive approach to healthcare and lifestyle.  Recently he has also been active on social media as an injury analyst mainly in related to injuries NBA players have sustained.   Evan can be followed on his social media accounts.

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1. Best, Raymond MD*,†; Mauch, Frieder MD†; Böhle, Caroline MSS‡; Huth, Jochen MSS†; Brüggemann, Peter PhD‡. Residual Mechanical Effectiveness of External Ankle Tape Before and After Competitive Professional Soccer Performance. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine 24(1):p 51-57, January 2014. | DOI: 10.1097/JSM.0b013e31829ddc74
2. McGuine TA, Hetzel S, Pennuto A, Brooks A. Basketball coaches' utilization of ankle injury prevention strategies. Sports Health. 2013 Sep;5(5):410-6. doi: 10.1177/1941738113491072. PMID: 24427411; PMCID: PMC3752192.