I'm being advised to wear an ankle support that helps stop knee from locking back & am getting physio to improve my walking which might remove the need for the brace. Has anyone had experience of wearing an ankle brace & has it benefited you, please? Julie

Hi Julie,

This is a great question. There are a number of different reasons why an ankle brace (often referred to as an orthosis) might be recommended after a stroke. One common reason is to help with ‘drop foot’ when ankle muscles are weak, to avoid tripping if you catch your foot on the ground. Another common reason is to help stop the knee locking or ‘flicking’ back when you are walking. If your knee locks back often when you are walking, this can unfortunately result in pain and damage to the knee joint over a period of time. An ankle brace in this case usually works by controlling the movement of the shin bone so that the knee is prevented from locking back. 

The tricky thing is that everyone is very individual. For some people, doing strengthening exercises of the knee muscles may be enough to stop the knee locking back when they are walking. For other people, the best course of action may be to wear a brace. The type of brace will differ from person to person depending on a number of factors. 

I’d suggest having a chat with your physio to understand whether strengthening exercises will help. If a brace is still recommended, I’d strongly suggest finding out more about what type of brace would be needed and how easy it is to take on and off. You will certainly want to trial a brace before buying one. After all, you will need to know that it works and be happy to wear it! 

In terms of types of ankle braces, some braces are available ‘off the shelf’: i.e. they can be bought in a shop or through an orthotics company. Other braces need to be custom-made and this tends to be more expensive. Physios are often involved in trialling and fitting simple braces, however generally an orthotist will need to be involved in fitting a customised brace.  

If you need to see an orthotist, some public hospitals have orthotists that you can see in an outpatient department for free. You may need a referral from your GP. If you are arranging a brace through a private orthotist, you may be eligible to receive some funding from an Aids and Equipment scheme to pay for the brace. There is a different equipment scheme in each state – have a look on page 2 of this PDF for a list of programs in each state:
http://www.enable.health.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/262398/moving-interstate-fact-sheet-final-nsw.pdf 

I hope this information helps. Feel free to contact us on StrokeLine (phone 1800 787 653 Mon-Fri 9am-5pm) if you’d like to chat with us directly.  

Best wishes, 
Katherine (Physiotherapist – StrokeLine)