THE 3-DIMENSIONAL PASSIVE SUPPORT CHARACTERISTICS OF ANKLE BRACES

Studies of the passive support provided by ankle braces have focused p rimarily on inversion support. The goal of this study was to develop a technique to measure the support provided by ankle braces in all rela tional directions and to use this technique to compare four common bra ces (Ascend(TM), Swede-O(TM), Aircast(TM), and Active Ankle(TM). For t his purpose, a 6 degrees-of-freedom linkage was used to measure the fl exibility of the ankle complex in 70 healthy subjects. Each subject wa s tested without brace support and with each of the four braces. Testi ng was repeated on each subject on two different occasions. The angula r displacement at specified moment values and the four segmental flexi bility values obtained from the loading portion of the moment-angular displacement data were used in the data analysis. Repeated measure ana lysis of variance followed by a Student Neuman-Keuls test at p < 0.05 was performed. This statistical analysis was used to identify signific ant differences among the braces and differences between each brace an d the no brace condition. Each of the four braces provided significant support in inversion, eversion, and internal rotation, but the amount of support varied significantly among the braces. In external relatio n, only the stirrup braces provided significant support. The braces al so varied significantly in the amount of interference with dorsiflexio n and plantar flexion. Clinicians may be assisted by objective data on the amount and nature of passive support when prescribing braces to t heir patients.