Med SpecASO Ankle Stabilizer

I bought the Med Spec ASO Ankle Stabilizer after a mild sprain from trail running, and it’s been a game-changer for both support and confidence. It fits securely inside my running shoes without feeling bulky, which is a major plus compared to other braces I’ve tried.The lace-up design with figure-eight straps gives it a snug, customized fit. Once it’s on, it really locks the ankle in place, reducing side-to-side movement without limiting my range of motion too much. I’ve worn it for hiking and lifting, and it stays put—even during sweaty workouts.Pros:• Feels stable but not restrictive• Slim enough to fit in most shoes• Durable stitching and high-quality Velcro• Washable (I hand-washed it and air-dried with no issues)Cons:• Takes a minute to lace up properly• Sizing runs a bit small – I’d size up if you’re on the borderAfter about 2 weeks of daily use, I noticed less swelling and more stability during activity. I’ve already recommended this to a teammate recovering from a rolled ankle. Whether you’re recovering or just need support for weak ankles, this brace is well worth it.

As I continue to recover from a bad sprain I’m now using this Med Spec ASO Ankle Stabilizer In oder to allow me to walk while protected and stable, finding them to be comfortable and protective.After my injuries my wife ordered this Med Spec ASO Ankle Stabilizer along with a boot from Amazon to help me heal. In both cases we are very happy with our choices. They arrived the next day thanks for Amazon Prime, and both have worked well for me.A few weeks ago I took a bad hit, spraining my right ankle and nailing my left knee (don’t ask). As I’ve recovered I’ve had to deal with a bruised foot, the sprain, and needing to support one, while not bothering the other. At this point I continue to have swelling in the ankle, deep bruising in the foot and ankle, but the need to get up and around. I’m finding this Med Spec ASO Ankle Stabilizer to be giving me the support I need, but without pain to the deep bruising.Because of the nature of my injuries I’ve been unable to actually put this Med Spec ASO Ankle Stabilizer or my previous boot on by myself. We cannot tell if this is a one person job, but throughout it’s had to be a job I cannot do from my position - so something to keep in mind, but again, it may simply be my injury.The Med Spec ASO Ankle Stabilizer is lightweight and does not hinder my movement. It feels nice as it’s wrapped around the ankle, but again, it’s not hurting nor causing pain across the foot, though I feel protected. I am not wearing socks in these images - as you can see - but these were taken to test the size and take photos for this review. I have since worm them only with socks. While I did not find discomfort wearing no socks, I do feel I’m more comfortable walking with them WITH the socks - as if they give me a little more cushion, but also a feeling of protection. But I THINK I could go without and be fine. * I did wear them around the house that first time without socks for about an hour and I was fine.I like that the ties can be adjusted like a shoe in order to adjust tightness. We’ve worked a few times to get that just right, but it was easy to do and didn’t take too long. I feel the solid, but soft support along the ankle. It keeps me comfortable, but protected. I tried to use them in a pair of slip on casual shoes - the Med Spec ASO Ankle Stabilizer did not fit. I am using them in a pair of older gym shoes - I did not want to risk stretching my main pair of gym shoes - and find that the Med Spec ASO Ankle Stabilizer works well. My wife had to extend out the shoes and could not really tighten it all the way down - meaning the shoes do feel loose on the foot. But at this point I’m still doing limited walking. I think as I can walk more I’ll continue to use the Med Spec ASO Ankle Stabilizer at least another week, and I will have to figure out how to deal with the looser shoe. But as I need to feel protected and strength in the ankle, I’ll deal.In the end I’m very happy with the Med Spec ASO Ankle Stabilizer and will use it as long as I need it. And we’ll keep it around for any... what-if.

It helps my pain greatly! Comfortable to wear! Great product.

First of all I recieved this in record time. 48 hours to Southern California.I have played soccer for over 10+ years, rugby for 4+ years, basketball for 8+ years and ran track and field for 8+ years. For the first time ever, while playing basketball, I sprained my ankle. Grade 2. Partially torn ligaments. Its been two weeks and I still can't walk with a normal stride. I am ordering this so that I have support while I walk around during my daily activities.This is the first brace I have ever tried or ever worn.Size: I wear a size 9 shoe and 13 inch ankle measured around the heel. I fell within the small or medium size according to the sizing chart. I played it safe and and went with a small. The small is a great fit. Its really snug and I'm sure if someone's foot was a little too big for the small, this brace could accommodate. Also, this fits into my shoe no problem.Fit/Support: The first thing I noticed is that the middle of the laces are stitched onto the front part of the brace. This will help keep the laces even and help keep things lined up. I laced up the brace and this first layer of protection is pretty firm and comfortable. This lace up part of the brace prevents over flexing your foot up towards the sky and down to the ground. I wanted to restrict the most movement as possible of my foot and laced them pretty tight. The figure 8 straps are where the real support comes in. The straps reinforce the up/down resistance that is originally provided for by the lace up part of the brace. The velcro on the side for the straps is on the brace in a way that helps you align the straps to the proper position and same way every time (just like what stitching the laces onto the brace will do). Not only do these straps greatly reinforce the up/down resistance, because of the way the straps wrap around your foot and back to the same side, these straps will work to resist the "rolling" or eversion/ inversion action that leads sprains. Then to top it off there is a final strap that wraps around the top of your ankle above the ankle bones... the "high" ankle area. This strap gives good compression as the other two parts of the brace does. It also secures the laces so nothing gets loose.Range of motion: When sitting, with no shoes on, with my foot flat on the ground, with brace as tight as possible, while not cutting off circulation, the brace limits heel from rising to about 1/3 the distance off the ground compared to my other foot. Again, I am still recovering from the sprain so this low range of motion might be due to the sprain. If I loosen everything up the range of motion frees up. The straps still prevent rolling of the ankles however loose the lace up part of the brace is. I can move my foot left and right which is good and the brace does protect from moving the foot left and right too much. All ranges of motion are protected for. Compared to a professional athletic trainer's tape job, this gives less support but more range of motion.Rating: The reason I gave this four stars instead of five is because as a life long athlete I have had to tape my ankles up before and this brace just doesn't give you that total all direction firm security. This brace mimics when athletic trainers tape the ankle in a lot of ways, the lace up part of the brace mimics the base layer of ankle taping and the figure 8 straps mimic the tape layer that goes around the heel from outside of your foot to the inside. In my humble opinion, the part of real athletic trainer style tape job that this brace is missing, is the the layer of tape that goes from the middle of your foot, past the heel, then ends at the achilles/ calf. This layer of tape keeps the foot bent at a desired angle. This layer helps keep the heel off the ground and adds resistance to accidentally flexing your foot too far up and jamming the front part of the ankle.Comments: As an ankle brace It provides great support and keeps everything real tight and compressed. I couldn't say how well it compares to other braces. This brace does not fully mimic a real tape job which I suppose is one of its intended purposes. This brace will help to prevent respraining if you heal up to 100% because it adds resistance to the inversion, eversion motions and adds quick support in all the right ways. This brace is way faster than a tape job and for my purpose, the need for extra support while walking around, its awesome. Because it can't fully mimic a tape job (and I don't suppose any brace could), I wouldn't have 100% confidence in this brace to replace a tape job and confidence is everything in sports.TL;DR: Lots of support in a way that will resist ankle sprains. Way faster than taping your ankles up, but not as good. Really comfortable and shipped super fast.