Hi all,

I've been wondering about this for some time: who's more at risk of spraining their ankle? A weak/skinny guy or a strong/heavy guy?

-The weak/skinny guy is lighter, so when he twists his foot, there's less weight crushing the ankle (advantage). But he's also weaker, which means his muscles/ligaments/tendons/etc. are more likely to stretch/rupture (disadvantage).

-The strong/heavy guy is heavier, so when he twists his foot, there's more weight crushing the ankle (disadvantage). But he's also stronger, which means his muscles/ligaments/tendons/etc. can take a beating and still be okay (advantage).

My personal experience with this says that it's better to be stronger/heavier, but not too heavy. I've been skateboarding for years, and have sprained both ankles multiple times as a result. Back when I was weak/skinny, I seem to remember that my ankle sprains took more time to recover from (days, if not weeks). After I started lifting, I gained ~40 pounds and got much stronger...and sprained my ankle again. Hours after the sprain, I did my normal squat + press workout for that day (obviously being careful with the ankle), and the next day the pain was almost entirely gone and I was walking around like nothing was wrong. I couldn't believe it.

So again, my personal experience says that being stronger/heavier is better, although I can't help but think if you got insanely strong/heavy (think Eddie Hall/Ronnie Coleman/etc.), the heavier weight would start overshadowing the strength benefits, in the twisted ankle scenario...

That being said, that is my personal experience, and I understand I'm just one data point out of thousands of others out there...so I'd love it if someone with more experience in this area could comment.

Thoughts?

-skypig