A comparison of the sport stirrup, malleoloc, and Swede-O ankle orthoses for the foot-ankle kinematics of a rapid lateral movement

Little information exists about the efficacy of various brace designs to re strict inversion during lateral movements. The purpose of the study was to determine whether semi-rigid stirrup (AirCast Sport Stirrup), semi-rigid mo dified stirrup (Malleoloc), or a soft. sleeve design (Swede-O) brace varied in their abilities to restrict inversion without hindering plantar/dorsi-f lexion when a lateral cutting movement is performed compared to a no-brace condition (No-Br). Nineteen volunteers who had previously sprained their ri ght ankles performed 10 sideward cutting trials/brace condition. Based on k inematic data, captured using high-speed cameras, none of the braces restri cted inversion compared to the No-Br condition. Plantar flexion was inhibit ed for all braces, and less dorsiflexion was exhibited for the Swede-O. For three participants, greater toe-in landings were observed for the Swede-O. Based on chi-square analyses, the participants rank of braces for stabilit y and overall performance in decreasing order: Malleoloc, AirCast, Swede-O. It was concluded that the participants may have exhibited injury avoidance behavior during conditions perceived to be less stable, thereby reducing i nversion when wearing no brace or the Swede-O brace. It also is tenable tha t: the motion of the shoe was influenced by the presence of the braces, hen ce, no inversion restriction was observed.