Preventing Sprains in Summer Sports: Play Hard, Stay Safe

Every summer the same wave rolls through our clinic: soccer ankles in June, slo-pitch knees in July, pickleball everything in August. Sprains feel like bad luck, but the risk factors are measurable and most are trainable. Here's the prevention playbook.

Why sprains happen

A sprain is a ligament stretched past its limit — almost always in a moment the muscles around the joint failed to control: an awkward landing, a sudden cut, a misstep on uneven turf. Three factors dominate the risk:

1. A previous sprain — by far the biggest. Unrehabilitated sprains leave behind weakness and dulled position-sense (proprioception) that set up the next one.
2. Insufficient strength around the ankle and hip
3. Cold starts — first-five-minutes injuries are a cliché because they're real

The 10-minute pre-game routine

Replace static stretching with a dynamic warm-up: two minutes of light jogging, leg swings, walking lunges with rotation, lateral shuffles, A-skips, and a few progressive accelerations. Warm tissue with rehearsed movement patterns sprains dramatically less. Structured warm-up programs in soccer have reduced injuries by a third or more in large studies — ten minutes well spent.

The twice-a-week insurance policy

• Single-leg balance — 30 seconds per leg, eyes open then closed; add head turns as it gets easy
• Calf raises — both legs, then single-leg, building to 15+ controlled reps
• Lateral hops — small, controlled side-to-side hops, sticking each landing
• Hip side-raises or banded walks — hip strength controls what the knee and ankle experience
• Landing practice — jump, land soft and quiet, knees tracking over toes, every time

Gear and field sense

Footwear matched to the surface (cleats for grass, court shoes for hardcourt), laces actually tied, and a quick scan of the field for gopher holes and sprinkler heads — unglamorous, effective.

If a sprain happens anyway

Early protection, then early movement — and a real rehab program, even for "minor" sprains. The rolled ankle you walk off and forget is the one that rolls again in August. Call 587-355-3555 — Nolan Hill Physiotherapy & Massage, NW Calgary, open 7 days a week.