Spraino Patches For Preventing Ankle Sprains?

We see lots of patients with ankle sprains in our clinic. Recently there was a patient who sprained her ankle while playing badminton with her friends.

The lack of match play and practice as all indoor courts were closed during the circuit breaker/lockdown period probably contributed to her getting hurt.

Most ankle sprains happen on the outside of the ankle. Badminton, which is a popular sport in Singapore is mostly played indoors.

The majority of ankle sprains that occur in badminton are 'non-contact'. This means players often sprain their ankles without contact with another player.

A contributing factor is due to the shoe traction-playing surface friction mechanism since only the player's shoe is in contact with the floor when the sprain occurs. This is true across various sports played indoors like floorball, basketball, handball and badminton.

Interestingly, I came across a research paper on a low friction shoe patch called Spraino that can help prevent lateral ankle sprains in indoor sports players.

Spraino patches on outer side of shoe

The researchers studied the 480 participants (that played handball, basketball and badminton) who completed the trial. The participants were above 18 and were playing at sub elite level They trained at least twice weekly, had a previous lateral ankle sprain in the last 24 months and had returned to sport prior to commencement of the research.

The participants were randomized into two groups, with one group getting the Spaino patches to mitigate the risk of lateral ankle sprains. The other group played as usual with no Spraino patches.

The adhesive Spraino patches (meant for indoor use only) were attached along the outside edge of the shoe. The front patch covers 2-4 mm of the shoe sole while the rear patch does not. The patches had a durability of 20-40 hours of activity.

The intervention group received Spraino patches and application instructions as well as instructions on how to order new patches and report adverse events. They were encouraged to use Spraino patches during all indoor sport activities. Both groups were allowed to tape or keep using any other injury preventive measure of their choice.

The researches found that Spraino was just as effective as other preventive measures (like exercise and prophylactic bracing and taping) when compared to not using Spraino. The participants using Spraino had a 53% lower incidence rate of severe ankle sprains compared to the control group.

The Spraino group was also less fearful of getting an ankle sprain and this is important since fear can be a major hindrance to sports activity.

Now, how do I get some Spraino patches for my patient. Perhaps I should email the authors. They should have named it something else though, in my opinion ;)


Reference

Lysdal FG, Bandholm T et al (2020). Does The Spraino Low-friction Shoe Patch Prevent Lateral Ankle Sprain Injury In Indoor Sports? A Pilot Randomozed Controlled Trial with 510 participants With Previous Ankle Injuries. BJSM. DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2019-101767.

Don't Ignore That Ankle Sprain

Now that's a nasty ankle sprain

We've seen quite a few cases of ankle sprains in our clinics recently. Most of these patients are young school athletes representing their school or participating in sports.

We've always managed to get our patients playing/ competing again quite quickly. Even ankle cases that were deemed serious, we've managed to get them up and running so quickly that their parents/ coaches were pleasantly surprised.

Hence I was surprised to read that ankle even if sprained only once but not treated properly can have lifelong consequences. Especially if the sprains keep recurring.

In the study referenced below, the researchers had students who had chronic ankle instability (caused by ankle sprains) wear a pedometer for a week. Their steps taken were compared with a control group of students who had normal ankles. Gender, BMI and general health were the variables controlled in both groups.

Turns out that the students with chronic ankle instability moved significantly less than the other group. They took about 2000 steps fewer on average.

The researchers were concerned with the obvious decrease in step count as this decrease may be secondary to other functional limitations. If this decrease in physical activity continues for an extended period,it may lead to other more substantial health risks.

Next time you sprain your ankle, make sure you get it checked and treated properly, even if it seems to be mostly healed as it can lead to lifelong consequences.

Reference

Hubbard-Turner T and Turner MJ (2015). Physical Activity Levels In College Students With Chronic Ankle Instability. J Athl Trg. 50(7): 742-747. DOI: 10.4085/1062-6050-50.3.05.


Note to self and my colleagues: be wary even of a simple ankle sprain