Ankle & Foot Splints, Supports & Braces

You can wear an ankle brace for many purposes, including injury prevention and rehabilitation from an ankle injury. As part of a current trend, many athletes and other active people wear ankle braces to decrease their chances of getting ankle injuries. Recent research supports this practice by verifying that ankle braces lower the occurrence of acute ankle injuries.

As a therapeutic aid, ankles and foot braces have a long history of relieving pain from plantar fasciitis, tendonitis, and other ankle ailments. They also protect against acute injury or reaggravation of an old injury. In addition, an ankle brace helps support and limit the movement of a post-surgery ankle.

Your ankle gets internal support from muscle, ligaments, bone, and tendon. Together, they form essential connections from your foot to your hip, allowing your lower body to perform under tremendous workloads. To reinforce the internal support of body components, an ankle training brace gives external supports to restrict specific movements, such as the inward turning of your foot that causes ankle sprains.

While ankle braces are effective aids for ankle injury prevention and recovery, ankle splints like North Coast Adjustable Position Food Splints serve as a vital part of treating severely injured ankles by immobilizing and protecting the ankle joint especially after surgery. Ankle splints function like a cast but with more flexibility. As a result, they promote the healing of ankle dislocations, fractures, post-surgery repairs, and severe soft tissue injury. In addition, ankle splints reduce pain, spasming, swelling, and inflammation. Another significant difference between the two ankle products is an ankle brace can be an ongoing solution for ankle problems, and ankle splints are for short-term use only. Depending on your need, there are various ankle braces and splints to accommodate you, like air casts, splints, Air-Stirrup braces, or ankle training braces.

Ankle injuries fall into the tibia/fibula class of injuries. Sometimes referred to as half casts, some ankle splint brands cover through the entire bottom of your foot or just the base of your heel. The primary off-the-shelf orthopedic splints are boot-like apparel that immobilizes your ankle and stabilizes your foot. But the posterior AFO leaf splint fits more like a sock. Regardless, you can put on the other splints like a shoe and tighten the Velcro straps from the bottom up. Also, it would help if you chose the correct fit for your foot and ankle.

Foot splints are an alternative to orthopedic footwear for external treatment of orthopedic conditions. These orthopedic devices are available for therapeutic purposes, including joint stabilization, pain reduction, and immobilization. Additionally, you can use foot splints for corrective or preventive functions, ligament damage, and plantar fasciitis. Some of the most popular brands are Core Foot Flexor Ankle Foot Orthosis, Tiburon Swedish Ankle Foot Orthosis, and Swedish Ankle Foot Orthosis. These foot splints provide critical support until you can graduate to orthopedic footwear or foot orthotics.

Your ability to walk in a foot splint depends on the type of injury and your doctor's advice. If you begin walking too soon, you risk impeding the healing process or causing more damage to the injury. Therefore, it is better to strictly follow your doctor's recommendation than your judgment.

Although there are no laws against it, driving while wearing a foot splint or ankle splint on your driving side is not a good idea for two critical reasons. The first reason is that you could disrupt the correct healing process of your ankle or cause more damage. Also, your restricted foot movement could cause you to have a severe accident. New studies have shown that an immobilized ankle takes longer to execute the breaking action.

You should ensure your foot or ankle splint is tight enough to restrict movement without disrupting circulation. Once you have secured your splint, you can test whether you have proper circulation by pinching the nail on your big toe. If the color returns, your circulation is fine.