OPED VACOtalus Ankle Brace for sprains, Achilles Injuries, Support, Tendon Injuries

LIke: Adjustable fit. Talus support makes a huge difference for my talar dome injury. Very sturdy. Probably would have re injured myself walking without it in the 6 months after my injury.Dislike: Some of the material is pretty hard and can cut into your flesh - requires a full length sock. Bulky, and has pretty much deformed any shoes I’ve worn with it. Don’t expect to wear this with anything other than a sandal or sneaker type shoe. Can make very low cut shoes slip off.Overall:Product was shipped promptly and seems a good value for the price. Definitely does its job. Will last a long time. I wish they made a softer version for more casual protection now that I don’t need quite so much support. In some ways it’s the most comfortable ankle brace I’ve ever worn. Obviously far more comfortable / versatile than the walking boot in later recovery.

Thanks to a stroke several ago, I supinate and have moderate foot drop on one side. I am also an avid cyclist on a competitive amateur level. I have tried every brace, from full heavy duty medical, to "over-the-counter" braces like Zamst and Aircast - both excellent provided you don't have foot drop. I have spent many hundreds of dollars experimenting with, attempting to modify, and suffering miserably with braces that never worked the way I wanted them to. I wanted a brace that controlled the supination, helped me with the foot drop, and was comfortable and reasonably stealthy. All I ever got over the years was constant back pain, foot pain, increasingly diminished balance, and very poor gait. When I saw the Vacotalus brace, I chuckled a bit at the talus strap - it just seemed a bit gimmicky (it is actually one of the best features of this brace). And it was a few coins so I almost passed it by. But I decided to take a chance and I am so very glad I did. After putting it on, the first things I discovered was that it was easy, very light, but incredibly it completely restored my balance and gave me almost normal heel strike and gait. I still can't believe it. I have now put it to the test in pretty much every demanding situation-heavy bike riding, challenging terrain. When I need it, and about the only time I realize I'm wearing it, is when I need its support. And it is there, and provides the immediate support I need to feel confident. He really has been quite life-changing, actually. I now find myself working on unlearning all the terrible habits I fell into over the past several years. I'll buy another one soon, just so I'll have two. It totally works for me. But, if you are reading this review and you have a similar foot drop issue - but are in the high moderate or more level of foot drop, you might need something a little more heavy duty. The Step Smart brace is excellent but a bit more industrial than I needed at this point.Update: I had a chance to try out the effectiveness of this brace in the real world. I’m going down the flight of stairs, I missed a step and landed on my braced left foot, a drop of approximately 4 feet. Had I not been wearing the Oped Vacotalus brace, I would have turned my ankle, either sprained or broken, and fallen. Instead, I landed almost completely flat and stable, startled but otherwise perfectly fine. I’ve tried just about every competitors brace. None would have worked so well. Not even close.

The brace worked well to reduce the range of my foot movement and helped heal painful achilles tendon. The brace is light and easy to put on, fits well in sneakers shows. My only problem was that I could not wear the brace all day or even a few hours at a time. The bottom part of the brace created pressure point around the bottom-arch area of the heel making it numb. I tied to place soft foam in between, which helped, but not much. Not sure if it was because of the foot shape or design issue.

Don’t waste your money with this product. Just like you are contemplating, I was willing to give this brace a try so I ordered it to check it out. The product is over manufactured and complicated in its design without providing any additional stability to the ankle; certainly no more than any other much more comfortable and user friendly ankle brace. The brace felt cumbersome on my ankle and was not comfortable for the brief period I tried it on in my house. Btw, I’m a physician, and have tried and used many other products which I found to be easier to use and more comfortable to wear without sacrificing stability to the ankle. Finally, to top it off, I returned the product in completely new condition, all labels and packaging intact and this seller charged me a “restocking” fee even though it clearly states that a fee of up to 50% “may” be charged on “used or damaged” items. So, bottom line, save your money and time, look at other products.

This might be OK for sprains but did nothing to relieve my Achilles tendon issue also after wearing it for 6–8 hours front of your ankle gets rubbed raw. Didn’t matter how much padding I put there.

This protects the Achilles from major tension due to the rigid plastic posterior leg and heel lining. The front stretch nylon Velcro straps allow you to adjust to desired tightness. This doesn’t provide the immobility of a full boot, but will do the job of keeping the tendon from much movement and certainly protecting the tendon from explosive extension and further injury.Comfort: pretty goodExcellent that it fits in a loosely laced shoe.I would recommend the product if you need more immobilization and protection than a neoprene or nylon sleeve, but don’t want or need to wear a full on fracture boot.