Controlled Ankle Movement (CAM) boots have been a staple of orthopaedic and podiatric care for decades. Compared with traditional plaster or fiberglass casting, walking boots offered clinicians a more practical way to immobilize the ankle while giving patients the ability to remove the device when appropriate.

But immobilizing the ankle can come with tradeoffs for the rest of the body.

A study published in JAAOS Global Research & Reviews, “Associated Joint Pain With Controlled Ankle Movement Walker Boot Wear”, found that nearly 70% of patients reported new or worsened secondary pain while wearing a CAM walker boot, most commonly involving the lower back, contralateral hip, and ipsilateral knee. For some patients, that discomfort persisted even after boot wear ended, with 33% still reporting secondary pain three months later.

One contributing factor is the limb-length discrepancy and altered gait created by the elevated sole of a traditional walking boot. For patients trying to work, drive, navigate stairs, or simply maintain independence during recovery, the impact can extend well beyond the injured ankle.

Immobilize the Ankle, Not the Patient

The TayCo Acute XAB Brace offers clinicians a different approach.

Designed to fit outside the patient’s own shoe, the Acute XAB Brace provides external ankle stabilization without the elevated sole of a traditional CAM boot. Its hinge can be configured to provide rigid immobilization early in recovery and later adjusted to allow motion as the patient progresses.

This gives clinicians the ability to support the ankle through different stages of recovery while helping appropriate patients remain in their own footwear, maintain a more natural gait, and continue more of their normal daily activities.

For patients who need ankle and hindfoot stabilization but may not require a traditional CAM boot, the Acute XAB Brace provides another option within the clinician’s treatment pathway.

Dr. Christopher Gauland of Specialty Foot and Ankle has incorporated the Acute XAB Brace extensively into his practice:

“The TayCo Acute XAB Brace has effectively replaced 85% of the fracture (CAM) boots I use for ankle injuries. It allows my patients to return to pain-free activity sooner and effectively acts as both an immobilization device and a functional brace. My patients couldn’t be happier.”

A Different Path Through Recovery

The goal is not simply to immobilize an injured ankle. It is to provide the stability the injury requires while considering how the treatment affects the patient’s mobility, gait, work, independence, and everyday life.

The TayCo Acute XAB Brace gives providers an alternative to traditional CAM boot immobilization for appropriate ankle and hindfoot injuries, with the ability to progress patients from immobilization toward functional movement in the same device.

For patients seeking a direct-to-consumer option, the TayCo RecoverX Brace brings the same outside-the-shoe concept to the consumer market. The RecoverX Brace offers three hinge settings, free motion, limited motion, or locked at 90 degrees, allowing patients to wear their own sturdy footwear while receiving external ankle stability. Patients should work with their medical provider to determine whether the TayCo RecoverX Brace is appropriate for their specific injury or stage of recovery.

The next step in ankle recovery may not be another walking boot. It may be helping patients stay supported while getting back to the life happening around them.