By Ryan Day, chiropractor, Sydney CBD
You can walk down the station stairs again. Your ankle feels fine on the way to work. Then the team chat lights up. You're the fifth player for Thursday night, and everyone wants to know if you're in.
Walking comfortably is a welcome milestone. Basketball asks a different question of your ankle. You have to push off, stop short and land while watching the ball. Sometimes another player decides which way you're going. Before you say yes, it helps to know which of those movements you've tried since the injury, and how your ankle responded. [1]
First, know when to get the ankle checked
If you've just rolled your ankle and can't put weight on it, seek urgent medical care. Do the same for extreme pain or swelling, an ankle that looks out of shape, or a suspected fracture or dislocation. If symptoms haven't started improving after a few days, see your GP. The advice below concerns a sprain on the outside of the ankle that's already been assessed and is settling. [2]
Work backwards from a possession you want to play
Picture defending a player on the wing. You shuffle to your left. They change direction. You plant the outside foot, push back across the lane, then jump for the rebound. Which part would you trust today? It's quite reasonable to feel comfortable taking the shot and uncertain about coming down in traffic.
That distinction gives you something specific to discuss. In 2021, an international panel of clinicians developed a framework called PAASS for return to sport after an ankle sprain. It covers five things: pain during activity and over the past day, ankle movement and strength, how confident the player feels, balance on the move, and the ability to perform the sport itself. The panel included completing a full training session among the things worth assessing. [1]
PAASS reflects expert agreement about what to examine. It doesn't give you a pass mark or a date for your first game. Its value is that your experience counts alongside what someone can measure. If your ankle feels strong but you still pull out of a rebound, say so. That detail belongs in the plan. [1]
Give yourself a practice option between walking and game night
Social teams often play once a week and never train together. That leaves an awkward gap. Your last basketball session was the one where you got hurt. The next opportunity is a game where four teammates need you to finish.
Once your treating clinician agrees you're ready for court work, choose a session you can control. Arrange ten minutes with a teammate at a quiet court. Tell them what you're there to practise. For example, you might start with set shots while they collect the ball. On another visit, the agreed task might be moving to receive a pass, stopping and shooting off the catch. Ten minutes is a convenient booking in your diary, not a clearance threshold.
Be precise about what you actually did. Shooting alone lets you choose the pace and direction. Following a teammate through a change of direction adds a decision. A full training session adds repetition and fatigue. If your team has no training night, explain that to your clinician. Together you can choose a way to practise the missing demands before committing to a match. [1]
Keep a note you can use the next morning
After practice, write down three things while they're fresh.
What you did. Name the movement and the dose. Ten stationary shots and twenty minutes of half-court defence tell different stories.
What made you change your movement. Perhaps you shortened your step or always pushed off the other foot. Describe the moment in your own words.
How the ankle felt afterwards. Add a line the following morning. Include pain during the session, later that day and when you first walked downstairs.
Those notes make the next decision easier to discuss. If the ankle repeatedly gives way, or pain is getting worse, pause the court drills and arrange a review. Bring the notes, including the movements that felt comfortable. [1] [2]
Keep balance work on the agenda after your first game
There's a practical reason to ask which exercises to keep. In a randomised trial of 522 athletes, one group added eight weeks of home balance training after usual care for an ankle sprain. Over the following year, 22% of that group reported another sprain, compared with 33% in the usual-care group. The trial supports continuing balance work. It answers a different question from whether you're ready to play this Thursday. [3]
Before replying to the team chat, finish this sentence: "The part of basketball I haven't tried yet is ___." If the answer is stopping at speed, landing a rebound or getting through practice, you have something concrete to work on. You can also give your team a straight answer about what you're ready to do.
Ryan Day is a chiropractor practising at Gathr, near Wynyard in Sydney CBD. If a settling ankle injury still limits a particular movement, you can discuss it at a first visit. What to expect · Book an appointment