Walking Braces & Splints Buyer's Guide

Walking Braces and Splints are a modern way of immobilising and protecting the lower leg, ankle and foot following surgery, a soft-tissue injury or fracture. Lighter than old-fashioned plaster casts, Walking Braces and Splints can be removed to allow gentle rehabilitation exercises, speeding up recovery and improving patient comfort and hygiene. This Buyer's Guide aims to help you choose the best Walking Brace or Splint for your needs.

Ankle and Foot Casts (Walking Braces)

Foot Casts are designed to treat and protect foot and ankle injuries which are serious enough to need immobilisation. A Foot Cast or Walking Brace consists of a hard, plastic shell that immobilises and protects the ankle joint and foot in a similar way to a plaster cast. Some Foot Casts include air cells that you can inflate, using an integrated pump, which provide compression to the ankle, reducing swelling and accelerating recovery. Another major advantage of a Foot Cast, compared to an old-fashioned plaster cast, is that it can be removed to enable you to bathe and undertake gentle rehabilitation exercises. This improves hygiene and speeds up recovery, as it reduces ankle stiffness and muscle wastage. Foot Casts are ideal for the treatment of a severe ankle sprain, ankle fracture, broken metatarsal (foot bone), ankle surgery, Lisfranc joint injury, Cuboid fracture and Talus fracture.

Ankle and Foot Casts (Walking Braces) Product Range

Leg Casts

Broken bones or serious soft tissue injuries in the lower leg or ankle need to be immobilised to prevent aggravating movements being carried out or too much weight being put through the leg in order to speed up the healing process. Consisting of a hard plastic shell, cushioned with foam, which encloses your foot and extends to your knee, a Leg Cast immobilises the lower leg in the same way as an old-fashioned plaster cast, with the advantage that it can be removed to allow the user to bathe and do gentle rehabilitation exercises. As well as improving hygiene, this speeds recovery, as it reduces stiffness and increases circulation in the area of the leg or ankle injury.

Leg Casts Product Range

Night Splints

Night Splints are designed to treat Plantar Fasciitis while you sleep. Research has indicated that Night Splints can reduce the painful symptoms of Plantar Fasciitis in over 80% of cases. Plantar Fasciitis is a term describing inflammation of the Plantar Fascia, a fibrous sheath that runs the length of the sole of your foot, connecting the heel with the toes. Plantar Fasciitis causes heel pain, spreading into the sole of the foot, especially as you 'toe off' when running or walking. Typically, sufferers experience foot pain when taking the first steps of the day or after prolonged sitting when the fibres tighten up with inactivity and then need to stretch when getting up. Relief from these acute symptoms of Plantar Fasciitis can be achieved by stretching the Plantar Fascia to encourage the fibrous sheath to return to its normal alignment. Night Splints work by holding the foot in a 'dorsi-flexed' position, stretching the Plantar Fascia throughout the night, allowing the fibres to adapt to the lengthened position and reduce pain.

Night Splints Product Range

Protective Shoes

The Donjoy Podalux Shoe has been specially designed to protect the foot and hold it in the best position for rehabilitation following foot surgery or toe surgery. The Podalux Shoe has a wide, non-skid sole to prevent you from slipping and causing damage to the painful area. It also features a removable rigid foot plate, which allows the wearer to alter the firmness of the arch support and inner sole, in order to give the most comfortable fit and promote rapid healing from injuries to the toes and forefoot such as metatarsal fractures, Lisfranc joint injury, Stress fractures or after foot surgery. The Podalux Shoe is held in place by two wide, comfortable straps and has an open toe section with enough space for the bulky dressings applied following operations, such as Hallux Valgus surgery (bunion removal), Hallux Rigidus surgery (treatment of big toe arthritis) and surgery to correct an in-growing toenail.

Protective Shoes Product Range

Walking Braces & Splints

Walking braces and walking splints, such as the Aircast SP Walker, Aircast XP Walker and the Aircast Foam Walker are a fantastic innovation in the treatment and management of injuries such as shin fractures, Tibial fractures, fibula fractures, broken leg, broken foot, cuboid fracture, navicular fracture and following foot and ankle surgery.

Aircast walking braces are lightweight removable plastic casts. They provide as much immobilisation and protection for fractures and broken bones as an old fashioned plaster of paris cast but, because they are lightweight and removable, they are much more comfortable for the patient.

By simply undoing the Velcro on the Aircast Walker the affected foot can be removed for washing and bathing, making the Walker more hygienic; and rehabilitation exercises can be performed under the supervision of a physiotherapist. By regularly doing these rehab exercises the injury recovers faster. The Aircast Walker range also features pneumatic walkers that have inflatable air cells within the brace. These can be custom inflated using a bulb hand pump that is provided to ensure a custom fit. The air cells provide graded compression that helps to prevent a reduce swelling around the ankle, foot and lower leg. This speeds up the recovery from a broken leg or a broken foot.