Bracehorn — Shoehorn for Leg Braces and AFOs

Now available for wholesale to clinics, orthotics providers and footwear retailers.

Please inquire for individual purchases.

Bracehorn is a shoehorn built for one job: getting a leg brace into a shoe without a fight. It is wider than an ordinary shoehorn, curved into a concave channel, and set at a working angle — so the brace follows a guided path down into the shoe in a single motion, instead of catching, slipping and folding the back of the shoe over.

The problem it solves

Anyone who wears an ankle-foot orthosis or a leg brace knows the routine. The heel counter — the stiffened back of the shoe — is soft. Press a brace against it and it bends. Do that enough times and it cracks, and once a heel counter is broken down it will not go back to shape.

A standard shoehorn cannot prevent this. It is narrow, so it slides off the brace. It will not hold an angle, so it shifts around while you are trying to work. You end up guessing at the approach, making several attempts, and pressing down on a shoe that is collapsing under the brace.

Bracehorn was designed specifically to fix that.

How it works

• Wide. A brace is far bulkier than a bare foot. The extra width gives the brace a surface broad enough to actually control, instead of one it slips off.
• Concave. The curved channel cradles the brace and the heel counter together, holding both in line so the brace travels straight rather than wandering.
• Angled. The device sits at a working angle for a seated user, so the foot comes into it naturally with no awkward repositioning.

The length and the angle were the two dimensions that took the most development. Too long and the horn catches the back of the calf. Too steep an angle and the foot will not slide properly; too shallow and it makes contact in the wrong place. The production version is the result of working both of those to the point where the motion is simply smooth.

How to use it

1. Sit down. The technique is designed to be performed seated.
2. Put the toe into the shoe and hold the tongue or flap clear.
3. Set the brace against the back of the heel, where the Bracehorn is seated.
4. Bring your weight down and let the brace slide down the guide into the shoe.

You are not pulling on the shoe or forcing anything. The Bracehorn holds the path open and your own body weight does the work.

Built to protect your brace, not itself

Bracehorn is made from a firm, smooth, heavy-duty plastic — deliberately chosen over metal, which is heavier and harder to handle and position.

The inner surface of the Bracehorn is designed to take scratches. This is intentional and it is not a defect. Something has to give when a brace slides across a surface under load, and it should be the tool rather than the brace. Marks on the inside of the horn mean your ankle-foot orthosis, carbon brace or leather brace is not the thing being worn down.

Who it is for

Bracehorn is designed for people who wear a rigid or semi-rigid lower-leg brace every day, including:

• AFO (ankle-foot orthosis) wearers
• Carbon fibre and exoskeleton-style brace wearers
• Arizona-style leather foot brace wearers — leather is especially sticky against a shoe lining and particularly difficult without a guide

These braces are commonly worn by people living with drop foot, by stroke survivors, and by people with degenerative muscle conditions who rely on a brace to stabilise the leg in order to walk.

Footwear

Bracehorn works with any shoe that opens up and fastens down — sneakers, athletic and walking shoes, dress shoes, work boots and tall boots.

Boots are where it makes the biggest difference. A brace removes dorsiflexion, meaning the wearer cannot point the toe up and down, and that is exactly the motion normally used to work a foot into a tall shoe. Take that away and boots become the hardest footwear there is to put on. Bracehorn is built for precisely that situation.

One note worth knowing: slip-on shoes generally do not work with braces at all, regardless of what tool you use. A brace wearer needs footwear that opens up and can then be locked down.

Specifications

Material	Firm, smooth, heavy-duty durable plastic
Length	14 inches
Width at widest point	3.5 inches
Weight	3.6 ounces
Colour	Black
Product Origin	Designed in Washington, USA. Made in China.
Care	Wipe clean. Interior scuffing is expected and by design.

Designed by a footwear specialist

Bracehorn was invented by Dominic Ahn, who has spent decades fitting shoes in his own Seattle-area stores. He watched the same failure happen to customer after customer wearing braces — cracked heel counters, collapsed shoes, a thin shoehorn that was never designed for the job — and built the tool that was missing.

It came out of years of hands-on fittings, not a drawing board.

For clinics and providers

Bracehorn is available to orthotics providers, clinics, hospitals and footwear retailers at wholesale pricing, with volume tiers available. Contact us to request a sample or discuss quantity pricing.