Holly B. is an active professional in her late twenties who spends her free time playing recreational flag football and league basketball. She shares her experience with us as she explores the world of sports.

A few months after tearing my ACL last year, I was asked to help referee an ultimate frisbee tournament for a charity. Luckily, they mostly only needed me to be a timekeeper as the games were mostly self-monitored between the players on the teams. Up until this point I had avoided attending sports events, because my overwhelming desire to play collided with my inability to play because of my injury. Well... I wasn't the only one.

One notable event was the fact a friend of mine had hurt his ankle during ultimate frisbee practice the previous week. He did his best to rehabilitate his ankle during the week, but it was still bruised and slightly swollen during the tournament. He shoved it in a lace-up ankle brace in order to play, but during the tournament he ended up re-injuring his ankle and had to sit out for the last game.

Now that I'm more aware of how our actions can affect the joints in our body, I can't help but wonder if his initial injury could have been avoided if he had worn ankle braces to help prevent the injury before it happened. Ankle braces help by adding stability to our ankle joint and can even help avert rollover injuries. Not only that, but some ankle braces, such as the Aircast Air-Stirrup Ankle Brace, can help ankle sprains recover faster.

Here are some ankle braces recommended for sports such as ultimate frisbee:

I've been recommending these braces to some of my friends who have ankle issues. They're great for other sports too! I can speak from experience that it's much better to do your best to prevent injuries rather than to look back with regret after being sidelined. Check with your doctor for the best treatment for your specific injury or situation.