Is there a difference between protective and supportive ankle braces?

Protective are more for protecting you from cracking your ankle knob on
you crank arm or whatever. And supportive is for ankle support from
twisting or rolling your ankle over sideways. Some do both like active
ankles. I dislocated my left ankle which broke my tibia and fibula while
riding my muni so I wear ankle supports when I ride. The kind that I
like are called ASO and cost about $40 each, you can order then online I
think the web sit was called something like docortotic.com but you can
find them by google. They offer some protection from wacking your ankle
bone and give great support. I hope this is helpfull, Dan.

--
Tellurider - Dan Wilson

There's a fine line between "Hobby" and "Mental Illness".
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tellurider's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/4972
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/38103

Tellurider said:

*Protective are more for protecting you from cracking your ankle knob
on you crank arm or whatever. And supportive is for ankle support from
twisting or rolling your ankle over sideways. Some do both like active
ankles. I dislocated my left ankle which broke my tibia and fibula
while riding my muni so I wear ankle supports when I ride. The kind
that I like are called ASO and cost about $40 each, you can order then
online I think the web sit was called something like docortotic.com
but you can find them by google. They offer some protection from
wacking your ankle bone and give great support. I hope this is
helpfull, Dan. *

Yeah, that's helpful.
I looked at the ASOs before, and they seem interesting. I almost bought
some, but didn't.

The "supportive" ones I'm looking at now are $11 each...these are the
ones with the steel spring support. I'm suprised at the huge range of
price, and I'm wondering if it really is worth paying 4 times as much
for something...is the gain in actual protection, or in comfort and
range of motion, or is it just in brand name?

--
Skippii - Kingpin, One for the Road

One for the Road: Harrisonburg's Unicycle gang.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Skippii's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/7822
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/38103

Skippii said:

*Yeah, that's helpful.
I looked at the ASOs before, and they seem interesting. I almost
bought some, but didn't.

The "supportive" ones I'm looking at now are $11 each...these are the
ones with the steel spring support. I'm suprised at the huge range of
price, and I'm wondering if it really is worth paying 4 times as much
for something...is the gain in actual protection, or in comfort and
range of motion, or is it just in brand name? *

I have a pair of active ankles and I didn't like them they made my ankle
realy wide and they rubed on my crank arms, and were uncomfortable. The
ASOs were prescribed by my doctor so I got my insurance to pay half, but
I think they are worth the money they are very comfortable and give
realy good ankle support. They are comfortable to walk in and don't let
your ankle roll at all. So I guess it depends on how much ankle support
you need or want, but I don't think I would have broken my ankle in the
first place if I had been wearing them so i think it's worth the extra
money.

--
Tellurider - Dan Wilson

There's a fine line between "Hobby" and "Mental Illness".
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tellurider's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/4972
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/38103

the ones that lace up and go inside the shoe are the best.

EDIT: for me and my glass right ankle.

--
jagur - Random Unicyclist

---------------------------------------------------
-forget_your_life-
--------------------------------------
-------*muni militia *-------
*one wheeled death squad*
------------------------------------------------------------------------
jagur's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/502
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/38103

jagur said:

*the ones that lace up and go inside the shoe are the best.

EDIT: for me and my glass right ankle. *

That's like the ones at which I was looking...so that's one vote for
each right now...

Thanks for the replies, keep advice coming...

--
Skippii - Kingpin, One for the Road

One for the Road: Harrisonburg's Unicycle gang.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Skippii's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/7822
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/38103

Ankle braces like the 'Active Ankles'
(http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=405) offer freedom of
movement while still offering protection from twists and sprains. But
it doesn't offer protection against hyperextension of the ankle. The
hinges also stick out from your ankle and can catch on the crank which
knock your foot off the pedal and cause you to UPD. The advantage is
that the Active Ankles offer very good freedom of movement of the ankle
for pedaling while still offering protection for ankle injuries.

Ankle guards like the 'Ankle Biters'
(http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=533) only offer
protection against bashing your ankle bone on the cranks. They offer no
protection against twists and sprains or other ankle injuries.

The lace up style like the '661 Race Brace'
(http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=720) offer protection
twists, sprains, and hyperextension. But they also restrict your ankle
movement that is needed for effective pedaling and climbing. To pedal
efficiently you need to be able to flex your ankle freely so you can
point your toes down at the bottom of the stroke and flatten your ankle
out at the top of the stroke.

--
john_childs - Guinness Mojo

john_childs (att) hotmail (dott) com
Gallery: '' (http://www.unicyclist.com/gallery/john_childs)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
john_childs's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/449
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/38103

I'm not sure I know what hyperextension is...is that just pointing your
toes down a lot further than they're supposed to go?

--
Skippii - Kingpin, One for the Road

One for the Road: Harrisonburg's Unicycle gang.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Skippii's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/7822
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/38103

The active ankles look like a better version of the brace I got from the
hospital...I find it difficult to uni with it because it tends to slip
around and gets very uncomfortable.

--
Skippii - Kingpin, One for the Road

One for the Road: Harrisonburg's Unicycle gang.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Skippii's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/7822
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/38103

active ankles are bulky and restrictive. go with the lace ups.

+----------------------------------------------------------------+
| Attachment filename: feb06554.jpg |
|Download attachment: http://www.unicyclist.com/attachment/275908|
+----------------------------------------------------------------+

--
jagur - Random Unicyclist

---------------------------------------------------
-forget_your_life-
--------------------------------------
-------*muni militia *-------
*one wheeled death squad*
------------------------------------------------------------------------
jagur's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/502
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/38103

Quoted message said:

active ankles are bulky and restrictive. go with the lace ups.

i agree.

+----------------------------------------------------------------+
| Attachment filename: feb06555.jpg |
|Download attachment: http://www.unicyclist.com/attachment/275909|
+----------------------------------------------------------------+

--
jagur - Random Unicyclist

---------------------------------------------------
-forget_your_life-
--------------------------------------
-------*muni militia *-------
*one wheeled death squad*
------------------------------------------------------------------------
jagur's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/502
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/38103

I've had good experiences with the Active Ankles, except for freestyle,
where they proved too bulky.

Those laceups look pretty good, Jagur, what brand are they?

John is talking about when your toes point too far up towards your knee,
stretching your Achilles tendon too far. This usually occurs on drops,
but can occur during UPDs too.

--
U-Turn - Member of Generation XO

Weep in the dojo... laugh on the battlefield.

'29er Tire Study' (http://u-turn.unicyclist.com/29erTireStudy/)

'Strongest Coker Wheel in the World'
(http://www.unicyclist.com/gallery/albup39)

'New York Unicycle Club' (http://www.newyorkunicycle.com)

-- Dave Stockton
------------------------------------------------------------------------
U-Turn's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/691
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/38103

The ASO are similar to the one in the photo but also have a strap on
each side that goes over the top of your foot and around under and back
up the same side and then a stretchy band with velcro to hold them. This
works like a figure eight tape job and realy suports your ankle from
twisting side to side. It's hard to describe without a picture, but they
realy work.

I dont find that they restrict your ankle movement for pedaling or
walking and they do offer some protection from hyperextension.

I just got a pair of ankle supports from unicycle.com that they gave me
to try called airsport air cast but I haven't had a chance to try them
out. I have put them on and they seem comfortable and I think they will
offer resonable support and they have metal plates that contour to the
sides of your ankle and will offer protection from cracking your ankle
bones against your crank arms but I can tell they don't give as much
support as my ASOs, but they are much less bulky than the active ankles.

--
Tellurider - Dan Wilson

There's a fine line between "Hobby" and "Mental Illness".
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tellurider's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/4972
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/38103