The A-FLEX journey still feels a little surreal to me. It’s taking the elite sport and Physiotherapy rehab world by storm but it started out life as a simple idea to solve my own ankle stiffness.
I sprained my left ankle in 2019 (inversion injury) whilst running in the dark – stupid I know!
The usual symptoms followed – pain, swelling, bruising, and inability to weight-bare. As a Physiotherapist and Head of the Sports Injury Clinic for Buckinghamshire at the time, I knew what needed to be done. On assessment, the Ottawa ankle rules reassured me there was no fracture and thus rehab commenced.
And things got better. My pain improved, the swelling subsided.
BUT the one thing I couldn’t shift was the stiffness! I couldn’t squat properly and I couldn’t run because it brought on knee pain. I tried using bands but getting the right angle and tension was impossible, not to mention how awkward it was to set up. My arch kept collapsing instead of getting better ankle range too which defeated the object anyway.
I asked my colleagues at work to help but I felt like a pain and I was limited to a) the strength of the clinician and b) the frequency (I felt I couldn’t ask every day in a busy NHS department without them wanting to kill me)
Therefore, a year down the line I’d become increasingly frustrated. I had nearly given up ever regaining full ankle range of motion. This is when I had an idea. If all of the issues I’d found with a band could be solved to recreate the mobilisation you’d get from a strong Physio, we might be on to something.
My brother James was studying Mechanical Engineering at the time (he’s now qualified with a Masters degree!). I tasked him with helping me to build a device that replicated mobilisation with movement for the ankle.
And the A-FLEX was born. (sort of – it was a bit rough and ready!). The first time I used the that original prototype was like heaven. The satisfying CRACK of my ankle as the scar tissue loosened and my ankle instantly increased its dorsiflexion. IN fact, my knee to wall went from 4cm to 8cm in the very first use! I knew then we had something that could help the countless patients I’d seen who has struggled to regain their full range of motion.
Several iterations and re-designed followed until we arrived at the A-FLEX device you see today, already used by over 100 professional sports clubs and elite athletes and growing fast!
I still have to pinch myself a bit to be honest. A-FLEX saved my ankle and my function. But that’s all it started life as! Now it’s helping people in different countries, in different sports and improving the recovery rates and outcomes in stiff ankles all over the place!
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