Von Wafer is just a cool sounding name. I just like to say it. Von Wafer. Say it to yourself…Von… Ok this is silly, I really should be in Grade One. For the last couple of weeks I have been a “Grade One”. I’ve been dealing with a Grade One Calf Sprain. and like many injuries a calf injury is graded by in it’s severity. With a Calf Sprain – Grade One, you’re usually out for around 2 weeks, Calf Sprain – Grade Two and you’re looking at least a month. With a Calf Sprain – Grade Three, let’s just say that you’ll need to see a doctor. This is a serious injury and you should let him or her advise  you. It’s a good idea to be careful with diagnosing a calf sprain as it’s the kind of injury that comes back to haunt you, as my story will tell. If you’ve got any more than slight discomfort after a week or so get a professional to take a look at it. (more…)

In basketball it’s inevitable that you’ll sprain your ankle. It hurts plenty, and time moves in slow motion as the ankle is sprained. An ankle sprain is an everyday risk in many sports but it’s why basketball players wear “high tops” and not tennis shoes. I’ve found that most ankle injuries occur when landing on someones else’s foot. Your awkward landing and your own momentum cause the ankle to “roll over” resulting in an injury of various severity. Ankle sprains occur so frequently that many basketball coaches require players to tape their ankles every single time they play.

Taping your ankle is considered the very best way to protect your ankle. Taping your ankle takes time, patience and also a bit of money. A professional tape job takes up to 30 minutes and by some calculations taping your ankle can cost more than €100 a year in tape alone. It’s a bit of a hassle, but it’s the best way to protect your ankles.

A good alternative is to purchase a pair of lace up ankle braces. A good lace up brace can go a long way to protect yourself in many ankle sprain situations. A good brace like a good taping adds extra support and hopefully a split second more to “adjust and avoid” yet another injury to your tender puppies. Further a lace up ankle brace is easy to use, so you’ll use it more often. Playing with an ankle brace does take some time getting used to, and it’s often uncomfortable for the first couple of runs.

We will review five of the very best lace up ankle braces.  Pro-Tec, ASO, Swedo, and hopefully a McDavid and a Don Joy. It’s a tough field of competitors. A shout out to my man Jesus who just rolled his ankle. You will rise yet again!

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“The Ultimate Warrior” was a pumped up WWF wrestler with bands tied around his massive arms and ridiculously aggressive war paint. I sometimes think of him as I put on my knee bands, and for me and many others the Patellar Knee Band is required playing equipment.

Technically the problem and the pain is something commonly attributed to Patellar Tendinitis. Some call it “Jumpers Knee” or even the nasty sounding Osgood Schlatter’s disease. It’s a common problem for those active in basketball, volleyball and many other sports that require jumping or rapid changes in direction.

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