摘要 |
A high-top shoe having an integrated internal ankle brace allows substantial forward and rearward movement of an ankle while substantially limiting side-to-side motion of the ankle. The ankle brace includes a semi-rigid orthotic plate shaped to receive a wearer's ankle thereon and having a rear support portion. A longitudinally extending blade element is fixedly attached to the rear support portion at a proximal end thereof and substantially fixed relative to a leg of the wearer by at least one support member at a distal end thereof. The support member may be the shoe upper itself, or a separate element. The blade element has an axial length, a thickness T extending in a fore/aft direction of the orthotic plate corresponding to a fore/aft direction of a wearer's foot, and a width W. The axial length extends beyond the wearer's ankle, but should not extend beyond the shoe upper, such that the internal ankle brace is not exposed. The ratio of T to W is selected so that the distal end is free to flex about the proximal end in the fore/aft direction and the blade element is substantially constrained from flexure in the width direction.
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