Need brace for chronically weak ankle

TLDR: I rolled my chronically weak ankle last Wednesday and it's still messed up. The brace I bought isn't good enough ( [https://a.co/d/04Tbzmvw\](https://a.co/d/04Tbzmvw) ). I need more brace recommendations.

When I was 8, I rolled my right ankle in a bounce house and ended up breaking my ankle at the growth plate. I ended up walking on this break for 2 weeks because my father insisted I was stupid and it was a sprain. After healing with a cast, I was told that my ankle would forever be weak and to do some ankle exercises. I was specifically told to never wear a brace to prevent my ankle from growing dependent on it. Since then, I often roll my right ankle, but never thought twice about it since it never hurt me.

Last Wednesday, I rolled my ankle while standing completely still on perfectly flat ground. It rolled 2-3 times rapidly because I when I tried to straighten it, it gave out instantly again. I ended up losing my balance and pushing more weight onto it when it rolled. I wasn't able to give it any time to rest until this Monday and Tuesday and it's now been a week and it still hurts. I got a ACE brand brace at Walmart and I feel like it's not supportive and stiff enough. The flimsy plastic stabilizers aren't sitting against the ankle bones either and sit below them so it's not preventing or supporting my ankle from rolling. I tried another brace and it had thicker plastic, but was the same exact low fit. Chat GPT recommends the Aircast A60, but I don't want to get it just for it to be the same fit. I don't have insurance either, so I can't go to a doctor any time soon. Any brace recommendations?

Posted Jul 30, 2026, 2:15 PM UTC

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