Walker brace

A walker brace for stabilizing a patient's ankle comprising:

• a substantially rigid foot support assembly for receiving the patient's corresponding leg and including at least one strap member for tightening against the foot:
• a substantially rigid leg support assembly for receiving the patient's corresponding leg and including at least one strap member for tightening against the leg;
• a controlled motion hinge assembly connecting the foot support assembly to the leg support assembly;
• an actuating system coupled with the sole and moveable relative to the sole in response to the application of the patient's weight to the sole:
• and
• a tightening mechanism operatively coupled with the actuating system and at least one strap member for increasing the tightness of the strap member on the foot and/or leg in response to movement of the actuating system relative to the sole as a result of the application of the patient's weight to the sole.

A walker brace for immobilizing an ankle joint between a patient's foot and leg and for increasing the tightness with which the brace is applied when the patient applies his weight to the brace, the brace comprising:

• a boot including a substantially rigid support surface for the foot and a foot strap adapted to be placed over an instep portion of the foot;
• a substantially rigid cuff substantially immovably secured to the boot, extending from the boot in a general upward direction, and including a leg strap for placement about the leg;
• a sole mounted to the boot, formed and positioned so that the sole engages a ground surface when the patient applies his weight to the support surface of the boot and means permitting movement of the sole relative to the rigid support surface when the patient applies his weight to the boot and the sole;
• and
• cable means having ends attached to ends of the foot strap and the leg strap and an intermediate portion in simultaneous engagement with a section of the boot and the sole so that relative movement of the sole under the weight applied thereto by the patient draws the foot strap and the leg strap against the foot and the leg, respectively, with an increased force to thereby temporarily increase the tightness with which the brace engages the foot and the leg in response to and while the patient's weight is applied to the sole.