This thing is pretty darn cool. It is made of carbon fiber and titanium, so it's extremely strong while remaining very lightweight. The whole thing weighs in at around 4 lbs, yet extends from the top of my thigh to below my foot. It is hinged at both the knee and ankle to match how my joints bend. There are two key controls that this brace achieves for me. The first is to keep my knee from "crashing", or falling in toward my other leg when I walk (or stand). The other is how it supports my foot: although it allows me to push off with the ball of my foot while walking as one normally would, the high-strength rubber bands help to snap my foot back into a 90 degree orientation with respect to my leg as my leg swings forward, thereby almost completely eliminating the "foot drop" that is a common characteristic among those of us with with MS. I highly recommend this type of brace for anyone who feels they need the additional support to remain ambulatory for as long as possible.

The company that manufactures my leg brace is Townsend. They are tops in the field (and on the field--when you see football players, basketball players, etc. wearing knee braces in competition, there is a high probability they are wearing a Townsend). Ask your orthotist to look into it.