External ankle brace

An external ankle brace for selectively restricting movement of an ankle in at least one of a first direction and a rotation direction, and selectively permitting movement of the ankle in a second direction, wherein the external ankle brace is disposed on the exterior of a shoe, the shoe having a heel portion, a toe portion longitudinally spaced from the heel portion, a sole, and oppositely disposed sides, the external ankle brace comprising:

• a rigid heel enclosure having a rear portion and a forward portion, the rear portion configured to receive and at least partially encircle the heel portion of the shoe, the forward portion having a medial sidewall and a lateral sidewall for collectively and concurrently at least partially encircling the sides of the shoe concurrent with the rear portion connecting the medial and lateral sidewalls to collectively at least partially encircle the side, and fully encircle the heel portion, of the shoe, the lateral and medial sidewalls each extending from the rear portion toward a toe of a wearer's foot and each extending beyond a talus of the wearer's foot;
• a lateral upright extension selectively perpendicular to the rigid heel enclosure and pivotally attached to the lateral sidewall, the lateral upright extension including a lateral reinforcing strut;
• a medial upright extension selectively perpendicular to the rigid heel enclosure and pivotally attached to the medial sidewall, the medial upright extension including a medial reinforcing strut;
• a lower fastening system comprising at least one lower adjustable connecting strap for connecting the lateral sidewall to the medial sidewall and extending underneath the sole of the shoe;
• and an upper fastening system comprising at least one upper connecting strap for selectively connecting the lateral sidewall to the medial sidewall across the top of the shoe, the upper connecting strap being located longitudinally between the lower connecting strap and the lateral and medial upright extensions.