#rollers skating

Yess thank you for this opportunity to tell my researched thoughts on hiking boots

TLDR: There is NO good scientific consensus regarding whether high-top boots or ankle support are more or less ideal for minimizing injuries in any physical activity overall. (Except as a recovery if you're already injured)

I was specifically looking into this as a roller skater because 1) I find the lack of range of motion in high-top roller skates annoying, and they rub my ankles, and 2) one time I did get injured in a way I suspected could be attributed to the fact that I could not naturally move my ankle in the stiff skate, so the tension just shot up into my quad. But then I'll never be sure. (I'm fine now, but I couldn't stand for an hour and could barely walk a block for a week.)

I did not find any research specifically on the safety of high and low-top roller skates or hiking boots. I did find some research and opinions on various types of ankle support:

This article for athletes suggests that ankle support can be useful for recovery but not for injury prevention because your body builds up muscles over time; with support, your ankle muscles don't have an opportunity to build up, and then when you take them off you'll risk injuring them because the rest of your muscles are used to more activity. You might have heard that bras weaken breast tissue and make boobs saggier? Same idea. Because you need to let your muscles be free to work or they'll deteriorate.

This hiking writer says that boots tire your legs and make your footwork clumsier, making slip-ups easier. That's my personal experience too. If ankle support is so great, why don't we walk around in ski boots? Why not support our knees and elbows too with casts? Because it makes everything harder and more dangerous IMO.

In this article from Inside Science about high- and low-top basketball shoes, the author says about half of NBA players use high, and half low, shoes. There are several studies cited in this article saying that there is no difference in safety between high and low tops, one saying high tops delay ankle reactions and make injuries more likely, and one saying high tops increase forces and injury risk to Achilles' tendon. Interestingly, I have a pair of "low top" roller skates which are literally made out of "high-top" basketball shoes. Because "high" and "low" have different standards for different things.

An orthopedic surgeon interviewed at Cleveland Clinic has a similarly mixed opinion: some studies say high tops can reduce inversion, some say they don't. She also mentions that people strengthen their ankles more slowly when they're using high-tops, and it's more important to have strong ankles than to put stuff on them.

But there are a lot more studies listed in this thread for hikers with a lot more different results. This one does seem to support the use of ankle tape and supports.

I like my minimalist shoes because I feel like it's a much more natural experience when walking on rough terrain. Oh, there's a weird steep spot or clod of dirt? That's ok, my flexible foot will work with it. With a big clunky boot, the movement would take my whole leg down. I'm confident that these work better for me when going off-trail - ok, foxtails and other pricklies are an issue, but I bought me some seed-proof socks. I'll see if they work when they get here from Australia. I also sort of philosophically believe in being a little closer to nature when I hike -- birdsong over headphones, feel the rocks beneath your feet, get wet and muddy or sweaty. But I understand not getting too close. I don't want to get stung or bit or poisoned or actually injured in a way I can't get out, thank you.

I'm sure there are people for whom hiking boots work better. And I'm sure you could find some more studies giving different verdicts, but probably not really huge conclusive ones.