The following press alert was recently released by Quinnipiac University.

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Quinnipiac University students help give traction to AnkleAid

Hamden, Conn. – Jan. 7, 2014 – Quinnipiac University athletic training students have helped give traction to AnkleAid, a patented hard plastic foot bath designed to revolutionize the way athletes at all levels rehabilitate their sprained ankles, torn ligaments and injured Achilles tendons.

AnkleAid is designed to surround the injured area with hot or cold water treatment and keep the toes out, with the foot at the optimal angle for maximum comfort and a slight stretch to promote dorsiflexion which is critical in the treatment of most lower extremity injuries.

Scott McKay, founder and CEO of AnkleAid, recently donated 64 devices to Quinnipiac’s Department of Athletic Training and Sports Medicine in July. They are used in classrooms, at clinical sites and by the university’s athletic department.

Lennart Johns, professor and chair of athletic training and sports medicine, said Quinnipiac students have used AnkleAid at local high schools and introduced the therapeutic device through a Quinnipiac program that matches aspiring athletic trainers with some of the top college football programs in the country. The list includes Stanford, Holy Cross, Bucknell, Lafayette, Wyoming, Rutgers, Colorado and Maryland.

Johns said, “We’ve heard nothing but positive feedback” about the AnkleAids, which are portable, stackable and less painful than traditional footbaths.

“The athletes like the concept of not having their toes hurt as much,” Johns said. “They can use it while watching film or during chalk talks. The athletic trainers like the convenience of the device. We see sprained ankles all the time. Unfortunately, they keep athletic trainers in business.”

McKay has discovered that a variety of people are using the AnkleAid for all sorts of injuries and ailments from plantar fasciitis to elbow damage.

Interest in AnkleAid continues to grow and it is now in use in 27 states in homes, high schools, physical therapy centers, orthopedic and podiatric physician offices and college and professional sports teams training facilities.

McKay said he started developing AnkleAid five years ago out of frustration with the pain associated with frozen toes. The Connecticut native “played every sport imaginable” growing up and suffered torn ligaments during a pick-up basketball game in college.

“That was the start on the road to multiple ankle injuries and a lot of icing,” he said. “One day, I couldn’t take it anymore.” His athletic trainers over the years always promoted full foot immersion in an ice bath as recommended treatment

There had to be a better way, McKay thought, so he fashioned his first AnkleAid with the help of an oblong champagne bucket, a butchered Nike sneaker and some hooks from the garage.

“It worked awesome,” McKay said. “It kept your toes out of the water and your ankle in. It’s portable, easy to use and promotes greater therapeutic compliance because it’s significantly less painful than full immersion.”

McKay began searching for manufacturers in 2012, ultimately finding a U.S. company to make the product. After numerous prototypes, he began selling AnkleAids in 2014.

While Quinnipiac students have benefited from AnkleAid and helped spread the word about its usefulness, McKay’s Ellington-based company also has support from alumni Brady Giroux and Bob Moore.

Giroux, a School of Business graduate and former member of the golf team, is a part owner, while Moore, a 1983 graduate and CEO and founder of Moore Physical Therapy in Fairfield County.

Giroux’s late father, Hunter, CEO of Connecticut Occupational Medicine Partners, LLC., was a proponent of AnkleAid. Brady Giroux became involved after his death.

“It’s a great product and there is a market for it,” he said. “People have been using peas, ice packs and full immersion ice baths. AnkleAid is a wonderful product and it is starting to get a lot of momentum.”

Moore said McKay’s device is ergonomically correct, provides a comfortable stretch and is easy to use.

“It just makes sense,” he added.

McKay said he will market the product at tradeshows and marathons across the U.S. in 2015. AnkleAid is available at AnkleAid.com, Amazon, Ebay, Collins Sports Medicine, Sports Health, Alimed, Schein and other medical equipment distributors.

“Retail is our ultimate goal,” he said. “The CVS’s and Walgreens of the world will all have this. AnkleAid should be in every home, kind of like ace bandages and Band-Aids.

Quinnipiac is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian institution located 90 minutes north of New York City and two hours from Boston. The university enrolls 6,500 full-time undergraduate and 2,500 graduate students in 58 undergraduate and more than 20 graduate programs of study in its School of Business and Engineering, School of Communications, School of Education, School of Health Sciences, School of Law, Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine, School of Nursing and College of Arts and Sciences. Quinnipiac consistently ranks among the top regional universities in the North in U.S. News & World Report’s America’s “Best Colleges” issue. The 2015 issue of U.S. News & World Report’s America’s “Best Colleges” named Quinnipiac as the top up-and-coming school with master’s programs in the Northern Region. Quinnipiac also is recognized in Princeton Review’s “The Best 379 Colleges.” The Chronicle of Higher Education has named Quinnipiac among the “Great Colleges to Work For.” For more information, please visit www.quinnipiac.edu. Connect with Quinnipiac on Facebook at www.facebook.com/quinnipiacuniversity and follow Quinnipiac on Twitter @QuinnipiacU.

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Media Contact:   

John W. Morgan, associate vice president for public relations, Quinnipiac University

(203) 582-5359 (office)

(203) 206-4449 (cell)