When I sprained my ankle, they wrapped it up in that tan wrapping stuff, and then put it in this black thing that had 2 bits of hard plastic on each side of my ankle, attached with a fabric bit at the bottom that goes under my heal, and then velcroed together.
It fits (barely) in my shoe…should I keep wearing this when I uni even after my sprain heals (3 weeks down, don’t know how long until I can uni again) or would wearing an ASO style brace help a lot more to prevent future injuries?
Im about to purchase a 661 ankle brace for my right foot, i tore the 1st ligament while bailing a 5 foot drop back in april. while it was fine to ride on my foot (in fact i found it harder/very painful walking, unicycling placed less stress on my foot) it didnt heal for fully for a long time well 3 or 4 months. i wouldnt try anything too extreme untill theres no pain in the foot , other wise you will keep making it worse, anyway i reckon wearing a brace of somesort would help for a while at least, i know gingerfreak has to ermanently wear one while riding now beacuse he messed his ankle up too many times, not really worth it is it?
going back to why im geting one, i just tried a 6 foot drop and it killed my feet and ankles and there a tiny ache back in my right foot again, so i figure id rather not go another 6 months till im back to normal again. dont realy know if much of that made sense or helps sorry if ive wasted your time reading this.
tom
Does the brace that you have now have any hinges?
An ankle brace like the Active Ankles is good for ankle support. It is hinged so you can still flex your ankle which is important for proper and efficient pedaling.
Ankle braces like the 661 Race Brace restrict the ability of your ankle to flex and make pedaling a unicycle awkward and less efficient.
I have Active Ankle braces and I sometimes wear them when I ride trails that are steep and rocky where there is more of a risk that I may twist and ankle. They fit in my shoes just fine. They still feel a little weird in the shoes, but they fit OK. Overall the Active Ankles are a good ankle support and they don’t interfere with your riding when you wear them. If you’re looking for a good ankle brace for riding then get the Active Ankles.
I sometimes use Active Ankes too (at least after I sprained my ankle at CMW2003).
If you have a KH24 with nubs, you’ll want to wear shoes that cover the hinge (like basketball shoes or hiking boots).
I had problems with the hinge catching the nub causing a very abrupt dismount.
Yes, the hinge on the Active Ankle brace can catch on the crank nub. It’s also a potential problem with the Profile cranks, not just the KH cranks, even though the Profile cranks have much less of a nub than the KH cranks.
I have used the Active Ankles with my 661/AXO Dually shoes. The Dually’s are high tops and cover the hinge. But I don’t like the way the Active Ankle’s fit in the Dually shoes, so I use my low top Vans with the Active Ankles now. I have extra long leg armor that goes all the way down to my shoe and seems to cover the hinge adequately. In any event, you need something to cover the hinge or else you risk some potentially dangerous UPDs. Something like an arm or wrist strap might work to cover the hinge. I haven’t tried that solution, but I think it would work.
And that catching on the nub with active ankles can eventually cause the hinge to break. That was a bit surprising when it happened durring the trials comp at NAUCC this year.
I just tore some ligaments and sprained my ankle about 3 weeks ago… the hospital gave me the same air-splint thing that you got. I’ve just been wraping it with an ace-bandage when I ride… It lacks the full support of the brace, but it’s cheaper and easier (at least for me) than getting a riding brace. Stay away from heavy riding for a while, I tried to ride too early and ended up back on the crutches for a few days…
Thanks for the replies.
I haven’t even touched my uni for 3 weeks – I’m still walking with a slight limp (But finally off crutches), so I’m pretty sure it’ll be a bit longer before I can ride.
As far as heavy riding goes, I’d only been seriously unicycling for about 3 weeks before the accident, so I wouldn’t even be up to that if I had a good ankle.
(basically, that means I’ve now been not riding for as long as I’ve been seriously riding.)