How to wear and adjust an Aircast boot?
The Aircast© boot is an orthosis that immobilizes the ankle and foot following a fracture in these regions or an Achilles tendon tear. In a way, it acts like a cast, with the added benefits of allowing the person to walk on it and to remove it occasionally to give the foot some rest. People who start rehabilitation with a cast eventually transition to the Aircast boot when they are allowed to start walking. When walking with the Aircast boot, it is important to remember inflating the air bags inside the boot so that they wrap themselves around the limb, effectively immobilizing it. An Aircast boot cannot serve its purpose when not inflated. I happen to have seen many clients who asked me why they had pain when they walked on their boots, which turned out to be deflated. In these cases, inflating the boot should already make a difference in pain reduction. For those worried about air bags exploding as seen in the comic, rest assured that this is just fiction and I have heard nobody getting shot to the ceiling by a defective boot. So inflate the boot without fear, although if your foot starts to feel numb, it will be a good time to temporarily deflate the boot to let the blood flow in the foot.