Muay Thai ankle support sleeves

Training Muay Thai regularly can put a lot of stress on the ankles.

If you want to prevent injury or heal from a current ankle problem quickly, an ankle support will be hugely beneficial to you.

It will restrict the movement of the ankle and protect your tendons, ligaments and muscles

But there is a surprisingly wide range of ankle supports on the market, and getting the right one for your situation is crucial…

So, I’ve complied a list of the 7 best Muay Thai friendly ankle supports across a range of brands, styles and prices, to allow you to pick the best for your training.

 

RDX Muay Thai ankle support sleeve

The RDX MMA ankle support is a high-quality ankle protector that provides excellent support and stability, helping injured ankles to heal and potentially preventing new injury.

With a unique batwing design, the RDX ankle support sleeve fits incredibly well, giving all the support it needs whilst maintaining wearer comfort. The ankle support is made from a combination of materials, meaning they are breathable, sweat wicking and machine washable.

 

 

Modetro sports ankle sleeve

The Modetro sports ankle sleeve is a multi-sport sleeve designed to support injury healing and prevent fresh injuries in future. With their unique knitted design, the Modetro claims to offer 4-way compression, ensuring support all around the foot and ankle joint…. Great for kick drills and long training sessions.

The construction material is anti-slip, odour-absorbing, breathable and machine washable so easy to take care of.

 

 

RDX Neoprene Muay Thai ankle support sleeve

The RDX neoprene MMA ankle guard is a thicker, more premium item than the other one in this review. It’s made with breathable neoprene with additional features such as a silicon design for additional support and comfort, heat retention to maintain blood flow and injury site warmth, superior stitching for build quality, it’s designed to provide the highest support possible. It’s a single item – these don’t come in pairs and remember to check sizing before you buy.

 

 

Pro Impact Muay Thai MMA ankle support wraps

The Pro Impact ankle support wraps are a more budget support option than the others reviewed so far, but they still offer a level of support for the ankles.

They’re made from elasticated cotton so are naturally breathable and easily machine washable. The Pro Impact supports come in a wide range of sizes so are suitable for all users and shoe sizes.

 

 

Venum Muay Thai ankle support sleeve

The Venum Kontact Ankle Guards are a thick ankle support made with a mixture of cotton and spandex, making them machine washable and breathable.

They’re designed to help with shock absorption, assisting in the prevention of injuries and the aggravating of old ones. They’re anatomically designed for flexibility, comfort, support and durability.

 

 

L Black Duo Muay Thai ankle support sleeve

These L Black Duo Muay Thai Anklets are noted for their fantastic quality and the low price – they’re not feature heavy, but they are very effective ankle supports.

Each pair of ankle sleeves are made from a simple cotton and polyester mix, so are breathable and machine washable. In addition, they are elasticated and known to fit the ankle very well, giving fantastic support and protection to a wide range of shapes and sizes of Muay Thai fighters.

 

 

Bodyprox ankle Support Brace

When it comes to customisable ankle support, these Bodyprox ankle support braces will take some beating – they’re completely adjustable to the needs, shape and size of the wearer so you can adapt the brace to suit you.

They’re made from a machine washable neoprene and the straps are reinforced with a semi-hard shell, maintain their quality. These multi-sport braces are ideal for those suffering with ankle problems, but beware – they come as a single item.

 

 

Why wear an ankle support sleeve for Muay Thai?

The nature of Muay Thai means that the ankles have an awful lot to deal with – aside from the up and down, side to size movements that you’ll perform in the sport, there’s also the enormous impact forces the ankles are exposed to with the various kicks. A proficient Muay Thai fighter is able to generate huge amounts of force in their kicks, force which requires healthy, strong and stable ankle joints!

To add an extra layer of importance to wearing ankle support sleeves, you have to consider the nature of the ankle. They’re a very complex joint. Ankles have a wide range of movement, a lot of flexibility and anatomically, there are a lot of muscles, bones, ligaments and tendons involved with the structure of the joint that are susceptible to injury and need proper protection in combat sports.

In competition and training your ankles will be exposed to thousands of impact forces, so wearing a good quality ankle support sleeve will offer you an excellent level of protection from these potentially damaging forces, keeping you fit, healthy and able to train and compete.

 

 

How to choose a Muay Thai ankle support sleeve

As with any sporting equipment you have a lot to consider before you make your purchase. We’re all different, with different tastes, requirements, ailments, budgets etc so a decision has to be a well-considered one. This is a list of the main points you should consider before buying your Muay Thai ankle support sleeves…

 

Brand

To an extent, we all have brand loyalty. If we’ve found other products in their line-up that we’ve liked, then we’re more likely to go ahead with them again. Different brands use different sizing in many cases, so if you’ve had similar products that have fitted well in the past, that is likely to be the case again in future. Brand reputations are usually well-deserved, so if a brand is known as a premium supplier, they’re worth investigating thoroughly.

 

Materials

The two major materials used in ankle supports are cotton and neoprene. They both have their advantages and disadvantages. Neoprene offers more support and protection, plus they keep and injury site much warmer. However, they’re thicker, less manoeuvrable and more likely to get very sweaty.

Cotton ankle sleeves are less supportive and provide less impact protection, but they’re generally thinner, allow for more natural movements and being a natural fabric, tend not to smell as easily as neoprene.

If you suffer with ankle injuries, I’d go for neoprene. If you’re after basic support, I’d go for cotton. Neither is better than the other, it depends on the circumstances.

 

Adjustability

This is something that could be key if you are using the ankle sleeves to help you recover from an injury. At different stages of injury healing we may need different amounts of support, compression and fit. Having an adjustable ankle sleeve may be the best way to allow you to keep training throughout an injury.

Additionally, if you have a particularly unique foot in terms of size, shape or mobility then you may need an adjustable ankle strap instead of a standard sized one.

 

Comfort

We all have different shapes and sizes and our ankles are no different. There are people with thicker bones, bigger or smaller feet, different joint shapes etc and all of these can affect the comfort of the ankle sleeves. Take a look at sizing, see if there is a size guide on the product page and read the reports of other customers to see how they have found the fit and feel of the product.

 

Muay Thai ankle support sleeves

When it comes to something as important as a Muay Thai ankle support sleeve, you need to do your research, consider your personal requirements, budget, preferences etc. In this guide I’ve given you a wide variety of options to consider – you’ll be able to find the sort of thing you’re after here.

Use the guide, give your needs some thought and you won’t go wrong when you make your decision to buy.

You can also check out my guide to the best Muay Thai shorts, shin guards and gloves