The main function of ankle braces is to control the joint position before landing

The aim of the present investigation was to evaluate the stabilizing effect of 10 different ankle braces during simulated inversion on a tilting platform. Twenty-five subjects participated in the study (23 +/- 3 yrs, 71 +/- 12 kg, 177 +/- 9 cm). Ten commercially available ankle braces and a trapdoor in combination with a goniometer system that measured hindfoot inversion inside the shoe were used. Inversion was subdivided into a free fall and a maximum inversion phase. Results showed that all braces restricted inversion significantly between 51% and 15% compared to the no-brace condition but distinct differences between models were found. Maximum inversion angle and inversion velocity were lower for those braces that restricted inversion most effectively during the free fall phase. Reaction times of the peroneus longus did not appear to influence the degree of inversion. Relatively constant differences between free fall and maximum inversion angles for all models (between 6 degrees and 10 degrees) and a high correlation between these two parameters suggests that the main function of ankle braces is to restrict inversion during the free fall phase and not at the extremes of motion.