About 20 new air casts are ordered at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital (KEMH) each week. Costing between $300 and $400 apiece, that means on average insurance companies spend $8,000 a week covering the local population. According to fracture clinic nurse Christine Grant each patient who needs a cast gets a brand new one. “Insurance completely pays for them,” she said, “so no one will agree to have a used one.”She said the kit used in KEMH’s fracture clinic is the XP Walker, which comes with two long white cotton socks, the brace, fitted with air cushions and Velcro closings, and an air pump.

The foam-filled air cells cushion the ankle providing support and helping to reduce swelling in the area. A reduction in swelling helps fractures and breaks to heal more quickly.

Manufacturers of the XP Walker note that the wide foot base allows room for dressings that might need to be on the skin.

Patients are fitted with the brace in the fracture clinic at KEMH, but they can remove it to bathe or adjust the pressure if necessary.

The brace comes with easy step-by-step instructions and is fitted as [NOTE]insert pic1[\NOTE][NOTE]insert pic 1a[\NOTE]in the pict[NOTE]insert pic 2[\NOTE]u[NOTE]insert pic 3[\NOTE]res[NOTE]insert pic 4[\NOTE][NOTE]insert pic 5[\NOTE].

The manufacturer notes that the brace is more comfortable when pressure is higher in the air cells on the inside and outside of the leg and lower in the cell at the back. Higher pressure in the air cushions provides more support when walking. Lower pressure is more comfortable when sitting or reclining.