Do ankle braces/straps hinder speed/jumping?

[unbreakable]

I need to get a solid ankle brace.. might even got one for each ankle.. wondering if they take away speed/jumping ability? I never really seen any jumpers that wear ankle braces such as Wade, Kobe, Francis, etc.

[dab0yech0]

For me it did. I've had two pretty severe ankle sprains and I wore ankle braces both times when I came back and it slowed me down tons but thats expected when you are healing. I felt more comfortable in em after a couple weeks wearing them but eventually I took them off because I felt like it slowed me down. I think it depends on the player though because I have some friends that wear two ankle braces and they dunk no problem and say it doesnt slow em down.

[mika]

Like the above poster said, it depends on the person. I noticed myself going slower than usual when playing with ankle braces. There are two things that could lead to this; 1 - your mind telling you to be cautious of re-injuring your ankle and 2 - the type of ankle brace.

For #2, I bought two McDavid ankle braces last year and love them. Here is a link to them.

http://www.eastbay.com/product/model:67077/sku:1890/McDavid%20Ankle%20X%20Ankle%20Brace?supercat=home&cm=GLOBAL%20SEARCH%3A%20KEYWORD%20SEARCH

You can't really feel them after you are used to them. They have a foam like sock to add compression to your ankle/foot to imitate the feeling of having it wrapped with athletic tape and a plastic guard to prevent any further ankle sprains.

[G-train]

obviously they do, its extra weight and marginally less flexibility

[MeloMike]

For me, it didn't. In my junior year in highschool, I would repeatedly roll my left ankle, and after that I would play very tentatively because I knew it would only take the slightest bad landing to mess it up again.

So for my senior year I got a light brace for it, and it didn't effect my speed or jumping at all. (Not that I can jump very high in the first place, but it didn't effect me at all). Also, you don't have that scary feeling in the back of your mind that every time you jump, something can happen. I recommend you get one (or two), it helps alot.

[jamal99]

I wear ankle brace on my left ankle all the time and no problems...

[TMT]

I personally prefer taping my ankles instead of using ankle braces. It makes you feel lighter on your feet and like you can jump higher. Braces don't slow you down but do make your feet feel heavier.