Not only does there seem to be an increase in total number of injuries to athletes but it seems that there are many more debilitating injuries that prevent the athlete from playing for months or even years. One such injury is the Achilles tendon tear that is hitting many athletes who must run and cut in their sport.
The reason for such injuries can be attributed to either poor technique or a lack of strength or other physical abilities that are related to the technique. Even though many people attribute an injury to fatigue or overuse it still boils down to insufficient physical preparation of the athlete for the actions to be executed.
Thus, to prevent injury, it is important that the athlete learns not only effective technique but must get involved in doing specialized strength exercises that are specific to the actions that he must execute. The specialized strength exercises should enhance his ability to execute good technique in addition to developing the physical abilities specific to the actions.
However, all too often, rather than doing exercises specific to the actions that involve the Achilles tendon or that the athlete must execute in gameplay, athletes are told to do exercises that may even exacerbate the problem. For example, many athletes do ankle abduction exercises to increase Achilles tendon strength.
But, this exercise does not strengthen the Achilles tendon. It is however, great for strengthening the muscles on the sides of the ankle which in turn can help prevent ankle sprains and strains. Thus it may be effective in the prevention of ankle injuries during the cutting actions.
It is well known that the Achilles tendon is involved in the push-off phase of the running stride but not in a sideward (abduction/adduction) foot movement. Because of this ankle abduction will not be good strength exercise to prevent Achilles tendon injuries. In ankle abduction movement occurs in the foot itself, not the ankle joint. This is another reason why the Achilles tendon is not strengthed.
Thus the ankle abduction exercise has value but the role that it plays in running and in strengthening the Achilles tendon leaves much to be desired. If coaches keep recommending foot abduction to strengthen the Achilles tendon, it is very likely that it may lead to injury because the Achilles tendon is not strengthened.
The bottom line is that you should improve running and cutting technique and do exercises specific to the main and auxiliary functions of the support structures. This is the key to injury prevention and to enhancing your ability to use the ankle in many different activities.
For more information on the role of the Achilles tendon and how it can be strengthened see the second edition of Explosive Running.