Efficacy of an ankle brace with a subtalar locking system in inversion control in dynamic movements.

STUDY DESIGN

Controlled laboratory study.

OBJECTIVES

To examine effectiveness of an ankle brace with a subtalar locking system in restricting ankle inversion during passive and dynamic movements.

BACKGROUND

Semirigid ankle braces are considered more effective in restricting ankle inversion than other types of brace, but a semirigid brace with a subtalar locking system may be even more effective.

METHODS

Nineteen healthy subjects with no history of major lower extremity injuries were included in the study. Participants performed 5 trials of an ankle inversion drop test and a lateral-cutting movement without wearing a brace and while wearing either the Element (with the subtalar locking system), a Functional ankle brace, or an ASO ankle brace. A 2-way repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to assess brace differences (P?.05).

RESULTS

All 3 braces significantly reduced total passive ankle frontal plane range of motion (ROM), with the Element ankle brace being the most effective. For the inversion drop the results showed significant reductions in peak ankle inversion angle and inversion ROM for all 3 braces compared to the no brace condition; and the peak inversion velocity was also reduced for the Element brace and the Functional brace. In the lateral-cutting movement, a small but significant reduction of the peak inversion angle in early foot contact and the peak eversion velocity at push-off were seen when wearing the Element and the Functional ankle braces compared to the no brace condition. Peak vertical ground reaction force was reduced for the Element brace compared to the ASO brace and the no brace conditions.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that the tested ankle braces, especially the Element brace, provided effective restriction of ankle inversion during both passive and dynamic movements.