Step Smart Brace
The Step-Smart® Brace by Insightful products is a custom AFO product for drop foot
The Step-Smart® Brace by Insightful products is a custom AFO product for drop foot
The Step-Smart® Brace by Insightful products is a custom AFO product for drop foot
The Step-Smart® Brace by Insightful products is a custom AFO product for drop foot
The Step-Smart® Brace by Insightful products is a custom AFO product for drop foot

Step-Smart® Brace for Drop Foot


Starting at: $229.00

Click to view Step-Smart Brace Success Stories.
Scroll to the bottom for videos about the Step-Smart Brace, the top cover, the hip square, and sizing.
Please allow an extra 2-3 days for processing when ordering XS or XXL or with a cuffed calf section.

* To purchase a Step-Smart® Brace: Choose from the following options below:

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Description

Starting at: $229
XS & XXL Starting at $279


Please allow an extra 2-3 days for processing when ordering XS or XXL or the cuffed calf .

At only 11” high and weighing under 1 lb, the Step Smart brace offers functionality and comfort at a reasonable price. This fully articulated brace maintains ankle action, feeling, and flexibility in the toes, allowing for clearance during swing phase and shock absorption at heel strike.

Patented Jacob Joint technology allows one brace type to be used by many in alleviating foot drop symptoms.

What is a Step-Smart brace?



Video Transcript for What is a Step-Smart Brace

Hi! My name’s Ian Engelman, founder and owner of Insightful Products. I spent a career helping people walk and I have a special interest in drop foot. I’ve designed the Step-Smart brace and this brace has helped thousands of people walk better.

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If you have drop foot you may have received a brace like this which is a static design and people report that it’s high and bulky and stiff. Or perhaps you’re giving the carbon graphite design which is meant for weak plantar flexors and helps people spring off at the end of stance phase. For drop foot cases that’s weak dorsi flexors so this brace really wasn’t designed for drop foot. The Step-Smart brace, however, is a brace that is specifically designed for drop foot. It’s a very low-profile design and people like the fact that they can wear their normal shoes. We have a patented Jacob joint which allows you to dial in the right amount of shock absorption and people find that they’ve gotten their ankle back. Ramps and slopes are easier to manage and people can get up out of a chair more easily too. The Step-Smart brace is offered at a 7-day trial period so you can see how it works for you. It’s made right here in the United States in the state of Maine and we think you’ll be glad you give it a try.

How to Choose the Correct Size



Video Transcript for How to Choose the Correct Step-Smart Brace Size For You

Hi! Ian here today we’re going to talk about the sizing of a Step-Smart brace. I have a small and a large Step-Smart brace sometimes referred to as a small- medium and the large-extra large. So we’re just basically talking about those two sizes today and when you should be choosing one or the other.

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There are two basic elements for this. You have the length of the foot and then you also have the heel width. So heel width is simple. You just put your foot down, you take a pen, you look straight down, you tilt the pen just slightly so you don’t add the width of the pin to the measurement. You make two marks and then what you’ll do is you just measure the distance between those two marks and then you’ll know whether you have a heel width that is too large for the small. And this heel width is slightly over two and a half so this heel width would be appropriate for the large brace. The heel width of two and a half or greater would be a large two and a half or smaller would be a small. As for the length there’s plenty of room. So this is a large foot, a size 12 foot, and there’s plenty of space between the metatarsal heads and the distal end of the end of the brace. What I mean by metatarsal heads…the metatarsal heads are basically the end of these metatarsal bones and they’re the weight-bearing surface. If you have a brace that cuts into that weight-bearing surface it becomes uncomfortable. A foot that is too small for the brace would look like this where you have the end of the brace starting to cut into the metatarsal heads. It’s okay to have the end of the brace just behind the metatarsal heads that would be an ideal fit and we don’t want a situation where the metatarsal heads are where there’s too much “gappage” where it’s a situation like this where there’s just way too much space because now the edge of the brace starts cutting into the middle a little bit. But there’s plenty of room for error. So even a big foot like this size 12 works with this large step smart brace so when you look at the size of the foot we sometimes recommend a 10-and-a-half men’s is the difference between a large and a small brace but really when it comes to the size of the foot that’s in the size of the shoe the end the length of the toes can vary quite a bit so it’s a little better to talk about the length of the foot with regards to metatarsal heads.

What is a Hip Square?



Video Transcript for Hip Square Video:

“Hi! Ian Engelman here from Insightful Products. I’ve got Dave here. David does not have drop foot but for purposes of demonstrating an uneven hip height or pelvic obliquity he’s helping us out. Thanks for doing that.

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So he’s got a Step-Smart brace on his left side and because he has a Step-Smart brace on his left side his left leg is essentially just a little bit taller than his right leg. So would you stand up for me please, David? So the reason I had this small chair is because I need to be near my subject matter and if I check out his hips like this, having done this for a long time I can see his left side is just a little bit taller than this right side because of the Step smart brace. This isn’t a functional problem. It’s more of a comfort problem. If you’d like to solve that and you’d like to have your hips even we sell the hip square. Hip square is an exact replica of the footplate that the Step-Smart brace has and it comes with a free velcro kit which allows you to insert it into the contralateral shoe. So, here we have the shoe and the what we call a solid horseshoe design and you simply just peel off the papers leaving the adhesive back and you insert it into the counter of the shoe or the bottom of the shoe right near the counter and then when you install the hip square just make sure you pull it up into the back of the counter all the way before setting it down on the velcro. That way you’re not stepping on the back edge. You would do that with the Step Smart brace too. There we go. We’ve got the funnel here for easy donning. Just step right in there, David.  Step right up. It feels good, huh? And now you’d put equal weight on both sides. Yep! Now when I measure his hips they’re square. So when you order a Step Smart brace you may want to consider ordering the hip square to go along with it. You can order your hip square brace when you purchase your step smart brace or afterwards.

What is a Topcover?



Video Transcript for Should I Get A Top Cover for the Step-Smart?

You might be deciding whether you want to get a top cover or not for your Step-Smart brace and I’m here to explain the difference. So this Step-Smart has a top cover on it and what it is is it’s a low coefficient of friction leather on top of a foam which will take the shape and mold to the bottom of your foot. Think of it as kind of a deluxe version of the Step-Smart brace.

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It’s not needed. It does add a little bit of bulk. You may want to check out Episode 9 where we show how to use the insert that comes with your shoe as a top cover and its sandwiches the brace inside the shoe. It’s actually quite a nice setup. However, you should know that the Step-Smart brace without a top cover is perfectly acceptable. It’s the type of brace design I’ve been providing for my patients for 20-plus years. There’s no problem with this whatsoever and you put your foot right on top of Step-Smart as it comes without the top cover without any issue.

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