The Relationship Between the Ankle and Knee as it Pertains to Steph Curry
Tim Grover, the personal trainer best known for his work with NBA legends Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Dwyane Wade, was spot on in his review of Steph Curry’s knee injury during Sunday’s NBA Playoff game.
We found out 2 days ago that Steph underwent an MRI on his knee, and it was deemed a Grade 1 sprain of his MCL - aside from that diagnosis, we don’t know much else. The timeline for his return is indefinite given the nature of the injury. Steph could be back in a week, 2 weeks, or miss the rest of the playoffs altogether. As Tim states in his article, according to the Warriors organization, Curry will be “re-evaluated” in 2 weeks.
Let’s forget the knee for a second. By now, we all know the history of Steph Curry’s ankle issues. Multiple sprains to both ankles, questions brought up by shoe companies debating if a long-term offer was a smart idea, and doubts of his NBA career surpassing 5 years. Like Tim, I’m curious to know if his ankle issues — more specifically, the ankle braces that are now a trademark of his — had anything to do with the way his knee tracked as he slipped and hit the court during Game 4 of the Rockets-Warriors series.
I get it. The ankle braces seem like a requirement to the untrained professional. He’s messed both ankles up so much that it just seems logical to wear braces that limit the amount his ankle can move. Sure, the braces help/protect Steph’s ankles when he’s playing, but I’d say that they most directly affect his mentality. Take Steph’s braces away, and I’d be willing to bet he plays more hesitant, stiff, and reluctant without the additional support. The ankle braces give him a sense of comfort — that with them he won’t mess up his ankles. That with them, he will be able to cut, jump, shoot, and explode with a feeling of invincibility.
The problem is this — braces in general limit a joint from moving in its natural pattern. That is what they are designed to do, be it a lower back brace, ankle brace, or knee brace. Specifically, ankle braces limit the range of motion at the ankle, which in turn shut down activation of important muscles that stabilize and work at the ankle, and lead to compensations through other joints. It’s also important to note that just because you wear a brace, it doesn’t mean your joints are bullet-proof — remember that Steph Curry had to miss Game 2 of this series due to a right ankle sprain.
Anybody who knows anything about the anatomy of the human body should know these two fundamental topics — ankles are supposed to be mobile joints and knees are stable joints. That means that ankles are supposed to have great amounts of movement in many different directions, something that many of us, including myself, lack. Take away mobility from a supposedly mobile joint, and you start to notice how it’s necessary for other joints, particularly stable joints, to provide the mobility they aren’t designed to give.
The injury to Steph’s ankle definitely didn’t help his case, but the fact that his ankle brace limited his ankle mobility even further, makes me jump to the conclusion that these two issues played a huge role in Steph’s Game 4 MCL sprain. He’s lucky it was just a knee sprain.
Simply put, I would argue that Steph Curry’s right ankle brace caused his right ankle to lack the proper mobility to come to a complete stop just before halftime of Game 4 — that movement could not be initiated by the necessary joint, causing another joint to kick in. That’s when we saw Steph go down clinching his right knee, only to hop up, fail in his attempt to start the second half, and miss Game 5 of the first round of the playoffs (yeah I know — they didn’t need him anyway. That’s beside the point). Right ankle brace. Right ankle sprain. Right MCL sprain. Coincidence?
