When asked for their reasons for avoiding exercise, patients often blame pain and a lack of confidence due to perceived joint instability. Such barriers to activity can be the first steps on a downwards slope to more serious health conditions, which is why it is so important for these patients to maintain a healthy level of activity in their daily lives. An easy, low-cost way to address the symptoms that prevent exercise is soft bracing. Soft braces are elastic and non-adhesive orthoses often used to reduce barriers to activity.(1)   Soft braces achieve this by: • Improving joint proprioception...

For any athlete, a sprain of the ankle lateral collateral ligament is one of the injuries that can ruin a sporting season, and is one that we want to avoid at all costs. Whether through bad luck or suboptimal physical preparation, ankle sprains are a common occurrence. Thousands of people in the UK and Ireland sprain their ankle every day. So, in aiming to return to our best level as quickly as possible, we often seek the help of a physiotherapist. For good rehabilitation, it is essential that we understand the mechanics and kinematics (motion) of the ankle, and its...

Fitting a knee brace need not be complicated. Keep these three tips at the front of your mind to help you in fitting a brace to off-load an osteoarthritic knee, or to support an injured ligament.Tip 1. The Height of the Hinges. These fit higher than you may think - line up the middle of the hinge (N in the DonJoy Logo) with the top of the knee cap. This prevents the brace slipping, and allows the hinge - whether it be a Standard, Fourcepoint, or Offloading hinge - to function properly. If it is too low, the brace may slip, may not provide...

These four points may make you rethink about effective knee bracing   ONE. There are two types of ligament bracing - Passive and Dynamic. Because a DonJoy brace is not sprung-loaded, it can be mistaken for a passive brace when in fact it is a dynamic brace. The reason for this is because of DonJoy’s 4 Points of Leverage strapping, which keeps a continuous load against both the tibia and the femur. By doing so, the brace reduces the amount of anterior translation of the tibia and thus protects the ACL.   TWO. DonJoy braces are not just for ACL...