Betterguards’ High-Tech Ankle Brace Bolstered By NBA Launchpad

The world has tried so many ways of combatting the ankle sprain. What was really needed was a brace that didn’t act like a brace. Yeah, tricky. Berlin-based Betterguards says it has made it happen, crafting a high-tech brace—buoyed by backing from the NBA’s Launchpad program to support emerging technologies—and giving athletes across a range of sports a new way to prevent ankle injuries.

“We designed with science, not tradition,” Tony Verutti, Betterguards CEO, tells me. “Athletes have been forced to choose between mobility or protection, in one case sacrificing mobility and in one case sacrificing protection. We invented The BetterGuard because it gives you protection and mobility.”

A team of mechanical engineers based in Germany founded Betterguards 10 years ago with a focus on injury prevention. It wasn’t until the technology—a novel hydraulic piston that allows for natural movement but then instantly turns into a protection device when needed serves as the key design element of The BetterGuard brace—received backing from the NBA Launchpad incubator in 2022 that the company brought the technology to market, launching first in Europe in 2023 and later in the United States. The NBA connection helped the brace gain adoption across not only the NBA, but also the NFL, professional soccer, the NCAA and plenty more.

The technology works because it activates only when you need it, Verutti says, allowing it to feel like a sock while protecting like a brace. There are no restrictions on styles of shoes—it works equally well in soccer cleats as low-top basketball shoes as tennis sneakers as high-tops—and weighs in 40% lighter than comparable ankle braces on the market.

“It helps with mobility and performance,” Verutti says, “but gives you that protection and peace of mind that is super important to have confidence.”

It’s the hydraulic piston that makes the brace work, acting like an extra ligament. When pulled slowly, the piston flows with the body. So, during normal game play, it is moving with the athlete, not limiting cutting, jumping and other movements. At that critical moment when the ankle becomes at risk, the piston activates and locks, all based on velocity.

“When you move really fast it blocks, three times faster than your body,” Verutti says. “That is the hero technology, the thing that makes the product so unique is that it is only there when you need it. It is like seatbelts in the car.”

Aaron Cooper, Betterguards advisor and former director of Nike
NKE
innovation, calls it the holy grail of ankle protection. In 30-plus years of footwear design, he noted how augmenting performance with sports equipment could negatively impact the body’s natural kinetic chain. “The idea that an athlete can wear an ankle sleeve that will keep the flow of force uninterrupted through the kinetic chain yet block that force in a split second to protect that athlete from misdirected force has always been a holy grail,” he tells me. “Once you know about The BetterGuard it becomes the only smart option.”

The sleeve slides on over a sock. The piston sits on the lateral (outside) side since 90% of all ankle injuries occur because of a lateral inversion.

Verutti says clinical trials are showing promise that The BetterGuard also helps athletes return to play faster following an injury, but he sees the technology as the answer for everyday wear because of its combination of mobile protection.

“My mission is to make this a piece of non-negotiable sports equipment,” Verutti says. “It is so comfortable and provides so much protection, there is no reason everybody shouldn’t be wearing it. We think a lot about prevention, and we are trying to encourage athletes to think about this as protective performance gear.”

Betterguards plans to expand its lineup beyond The BetterGuard to include new products for different applications, although they remain focused on the ankle now because Verutti calls it one of those injuries that is often overlooked and hasn’t had a modern solution to give athletes both mobility and protection.

The BetterGuard first took off in basketball, with about half of Betterguards customers coming from that sport. But as it has grown, it has expanded into NFL, professional soccer, baseball, softball, tennis, and handball in Europe. Now one of the fastest-growing markets is volleyball.

Cooper says that the performance integrates well with any footwear, which makes it work across so many different activities. “It’s a completely novel, adaptive ankle sleeve that slips over your socks, giving you an extra sense of proprioceptive security while playing and immediate protection only in that acute, season-ending moment you never expect.”