An ankle brace is a medical device used to immobilize, protect and support a comfortable alignment of the foot and ankle to assist in helping to heal muscle strains, ligament sprains and unstable joints. Ankle braces and supports also help provide support for instability, contractions, injuries, plantar fasciitis, fractures, and other lower leg problems. They can help speed up recovery and reduce the chance of re-injuring the affected area. The risk of a sprained ankle and other such injuries has been shown time and again to be significantly reduce by wearing ankle supports and braces.
How It Works?
An ankle brace or support works by providing physical restraint and reinforcing the supporting action of the ankle ligaments such as the anterior talofibula ligament, calcaneofibula ligament, deltoid ligament, tolonavicular ligament and posterior talofibula ligament.
Ankle supports and braces also provide sensory feedback to the sensory nerve around the ankle which improves a patient’s sense of preconception. This is the ability to know where a joint is positioned without looking at it. In short, by wearing an ankle brace or support the likeliness of twisting an ankle or rolling an ankle is greatly reduced.
How to Select an Ankle Brace?
- To return to play from an injury: a lace-up provide the maximum ankle support you need.
- For acute injuries or high ankle sprains: select a stirrup brace to help you stay mobile.
- For mild compression: a sleeve will provide low-profile compression and mild support.
- For mild to moderate protection during activity: try a wraparound brace.
At Green Lane Physiotherapy & Wellness, we provide ankle braces that create compression around the ankle, thus improving the sense of stability of the joint. This compression can be adjusted as needed. The ankle brace has a perfect fit and can be worn in practically any shoe.
