I’ve done alot of searches here for ankle braces and have found a number of them. However, I can’t figure out which of them is best to prevent “hyper flexing” (the toe coming directly back towards the shin).
A few weeks ago I got my foot stuck on my pedal during an UPD on a fairly steep downhill, and messed up that ankle. After a few weeks of rest, it still only takes alittle bit to set it off again.
Which ankle brace or shoe type do ya’all think would be best? At this point I’m even considering a type of mountaineering boot. Any thoughts? Oh yeah, I’m just riding XC / MUni type stuff, not street or trials.
I have had similar problems.
I wear 661 ankle braces for Muni: normally you should wear that sort of thing
only during the period where your ankle is still fragil and progressively try to go to normal stress on your ankles. But my case is special: I lack part of an articulation at the ankle …so …
Since I also broke a toe I am wearing safety shoes (I always use at least mountaineering shoes) but I discovered last sunday that I could still bend too much a toe : what we need in those cases are rigid soles (but I do not know how to get those).
For extreme distance riding I wear ankle braces with side stabilizers. The side stabilizer really helps keep everything in line and they’re small enough not to notice between your sock and shoe. Ace makes them usually and they are available in any pharmacy, wal-mart or medical store for about $10-$15 each. I had some ankle pain on day 2 of RAGBRAI and wore them for the remaining 5 days and it made a world of difference riding 70+ miles per day. I’d also suggest that if you get these ankle problems that you may want to make sure your seat isnt too high that you’re hyper extending the foot tendons or muscles on every down stroke. That was another small problem I had to correct.
I wear Active Ankles which do protect your ankle in the way you described as they have a strap around the back specifically for that.
I did only use them for Muni but after a recently bad ankle sprain I was informed I have Hypermobility Syndrome (which explained a lot with regards to my joint injuries over the years) so now I wear them all the time when I’m unicycling. They do take a bit of getting used to but I don’t really notice them now while I’m riding.
Thanks for the advice guys. I’d seen these before, was hoping there was something which restricted toe to shin motion a little better (without being a plaster cast!), but will probably end up trying one of these: SixSixOne, Aircast, and Active Ankles.
If you go with 661 get the race brace pro, not the standard race brace. The difference is that the pro model includes extra velcro straps which wrap around your ankle. It has a similar feel to having your ankle wrapped by a physio and provides more support. The standard model will not do too much to restrict the toe to shin motion but the pro version helps much more in this regard.
I use the 661 race brace pro and have had no ankle issues when wearing them (plenty when I am too lazy to put them on). Note that they are a bit of a pain to put on (it takes a few minutes for each side). This is nothing if you plan on a few hours of muni but I never bother if I am just popping down the road to the shops and back.
My recent experience with foot pain was short in duration but it was almost intolerable while it lasted. I was observing and videoing NUMEN 2007 at Killington and was learning to hop on a borrowed KH20. On one of the hops, my right heel dropped very low causing the ankle to experience an extreme upward bending of the toes (hyperflexion?).
The immediate pain wasn’t severe and I walked 18 holes at nearby Killington Golf Course. During the drive back to my condo near Okemo, the pain became so severe I had to use the cruise control for speed and my left foot for the brake. When I got home, the pain was so intense I was actually shaking. A few ibuprofens gave me relief and within 48 hours there was no trace of discomfort. Weird!
Until I read this thread I was unaware that braces existed. Thanks.
I spent a few months constantly tweaking my ankles that way-- taking it easy for a few weeks probably isn’t a bad idea. Stiffer hi-top mountain bike shoes, like the Five-ten Impact shoes (there’s a forum thread somewhere…here), helped me a lot.
Sorry to have to post here, but the sb uni mailing list is down for some time now. If anyone can tell me when the next MUni group ride is scheduled in Santa Barbara, could you let me know? I also have a friend in that area who wants to join in!
