Nonoperative management of athletic ankle injuries.

Few injuries in sports are more ubiquitous than those involving the ankle. Athletes in some endeavors, notably football and basketball, routinely have their ankles prophylactically taped at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars and, probably, millions of man hours. Other sports, such as skiing, involve encasement of the foot, ankle and lower leg in plastic and foam to the extent of almost complete exclusion of motion. In spite of these rather heroic measures, ankle injuries continue to constitute a significant threat to athletes in these and most other activities.