See the difference the right features can make to pain relief and real functional support…
1. Fully independent straps for custom compression. As we all have individual physiology, shapes and sizes a knee brace needs to be both flexible and easily adjustable to fit correctly, the better knee braces made from flexible neoprene will have more adjustable points to get a custom fit over the generic 2 or 3 strap knee brace designs which allows far superior fitting which translates to better comfort and support.
Whilst an open patella design is ideal, it shouldn't just stop there. If the aperture is too large which more often than not is the case the barce will not add any support to the patella. The hole for the knee to go through should actually be smaller than larger, thereby actually allowing the patella to ‘sit' into, this gives asense of support and protection to the patella.
3. Stabilization for medial and lateral support
When you have injured the two ligaments which run down the inside and outside of your knee that can cause significant instability and weakness. When lateral forces are placed on the knee with injured ligaments it will cause pain and often can make the knee give away causing the potential for further injury. A good quality knee brace will have built-in double lateral and medial stabilizers by means of flexible metal coils which take over the role of the damaged ligaments. If the brace has been designed well these flexible stabilizers will work in unison with the rest of the brace providing additional support for the ligaments.
4. How about the knee brace staying put and not slipping down your leg?
Believe it or not this is quite common with the majority of neoprene knee supports that have only 2 or 3 straps to secure the knee brace. A common problem that plagues many knee braces made this way, which means that the actual ‘functional support' is not really there if it's falling down more than staying up. This is where new more innovative ergonomic designs that utilize more fixing points or straps or a hybrid system to create a non-slip design really comes up trumps. These knee braces will be more costly as some serious end-user thought has gone into the design. The purpose of a knee race is to aid an injured knee so that you have the ability to carry on activities of daily living as best you can prior to the knee injury. In some cases you may want additional support to exercise or get through more intense physical demands which will be placed on an injured knee, and this scenario the better-designed knee braces will be a viable option but you will need to do your research and look for specific features which will allow for this.
6. Strong Velcro adhesion and thick attachment tabs
Adjustable neoprene based knee braces need to be secured around the knee often with velcro which allows for easy adjustment for different sized knees. Cheap and inferior products cut corners here by having poor outer material which does not have good adhesion to the Velcro and also the attachment tabs themselves are often very thin, they end up curling up over time which makes using the knee brace difficult at best. If you see the combined effect of poor 3 design style knee braces which often slip down with failing attachments you can see how important it is to check these features before you buy.
7. It should be lightweight and not cumbersome to wear
Look for a knee brace which ticks all of the above but at no cost to weight or wear-ability. You want to be mobile and feel like you are not weighted down or restricted for movement especially those of you looking for preventative or sports supports to aid during exercise.
The knee brace should weigh no more than 6-7oz or around 200g and be of a low profile design so it can be worn during sport or for long periods under clothes, anything bigger and bulkier will again end up not being used which defeats the purpose of the knee brace in the first place.
Comfort is a factor which will be as important to basic support, in chronic scenarios where knee braces need to be worn constantly this will be a key factor to how well the brace performs and relieves knee pain
An example of innovation a novel patented 4 strap compression system with the EX-701 knee brace over generic 2 starp and 3 strap style knee braces offers all of the support with out any of the issues dogging generic knee braces, see the video for a true comparison
There are literally dozens of knee braces on the market from as cheap as $5 to over $70 on the high end, and a whole pile of them somewhere in the middle between $15 and $40. What you will see if you really scrutinize these products in this range is that there really is no real differentiation between them, they are all very, very similar in design and function. Earlier we talked about the specific features which set apart high quality ‘functional' knee braces designed on purpose over what we called ‘generic 2 or 3 strap' style braces which have inherent problems in their basic design: that being they have poor support properties, slip down often and tend to be very uncomfortable to wear, and of course the combination of these issues means the support or shall we say real functional support really is not there.
When your looking online and pricing up a knee brace to buy and you see a style like this, 3 straps with two main straps and one which wraps behind the knee it is what we call a generic 3 strap design there are literally dozens and dozens of these style knee braces from cheap branded items to big stores making their own generic versions. Essentially it's pretty much the same product your buying so it's more a choice of where you bought it from and for how much. Your not actually buying it through an informed choice or decision over what the product can do for you.
Staying in place during exercise is the key
Again design is key here, the knee brace has to be able to do its job to isolate the patella and stay in place, that's where advanced more intuitive designs will be needed over simple generic 2 strap and 3 strap braces, they will not be able to support the patella tendon and will definitely not be able to help with alignment and tracking problems caused by tight IT bands which can pull the tracking out for the patella groove.
“There are not that many knee braces that you can use during exercise without them slipping down, comfort and support are equally important, it's no good wearing a knee brace that you can't use for more than 2-3 minutes of exercise.”
So there you have it some serious feaures which make a huge difference to the actual experience you will feel and expectations from a knee brace. It is worth mentioning that of course every person is unique and individual with both their knee pain, symptoms and injury. Combined with individual size and shapes of both the knee anatomy and upper and lower leg circumferences you can easily see why finding a knee brace that will do its job is not as easy as it looks! Certainly you will have much better success with finding a good brace that works for you when the product shows signs of the features highlighted in this article. For more information on the EX-701 knee brace from exous bodygear click here
Playing sport with a knee brace
Competitive athletes and serious sports people who need to still train or even compete with a knee problem will benefit from using the right type of knee support brace. Typical problems which affect the knees in sports hinge around the patella tendon and also medial and lateral ligament sprains.
For Patella Tendon problems such as Jumper's knee, the condition is responsive to pressure being applied to the soft tissue area on the patella tendon, the condition arises from the tendon becoming inflamed from tight quadriceps and surrounding muscles which then pull the patella tendon out of its normal resting plane through exercise it gets inflamed. By bracing this area you effectively push the tendon back into the right plane and relieve the inflammation.
In conclusion the quality of the knee support a knee a knee brace offers will come down to the key features discussed in this article. It is worth mentioning that on top of the basic feature list one must consider individual differences in knee shape, size and also conditions. Some knee pain and injuries can actually be exacerbated from external bracing typically where there is acute inflammation resulting in swelling. Whilst knee braces can help with inmjury and pain, you must try to treat the root cause of the initial pain and symptoms. A knee brace can aid in the rcovery from injury and preventing further damage. For more information on the EX-701 knee brace support from Exous bodygear click here
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