Knee Support Braces

A person may need to use a knee support brace to help reduce pain, promote quick recovery time from an injury, and to protect the injured knee. With a healthy knee you can do simple things like bend, straighten, or flex your knee without pain. It is a completely new story when you have an injured knee because doing simple things like running, sitting, or walking can cause pain. This pain can range from mild to extreme. Many times their orthopedic doctor will recommend that they use a knee support brace. Each knee support brace is specifically designed for certain knee problems like arthritis pain, torn ligaments, or injured kneecaps. If you are elderly or disabled and have Medicare, you may be eligible to receive a Medicare knee support brace at little to no charge to you. This is good because many times these knee support braces can be expensive. When using a knee support brace you should not wear it for a prolonged period of time because it could weaken your muscles. You may even become dependent on the knee support brace and think you need to use it all the time. They are a temporary measure used to manage your knee until your orthopedic doctor feels you do not need it any longer after undergoing physical therapy per the doctor’s orders and doing knee exercises. Some of the different knee support braces that are used include: • Hinged knee brace—normally this brace is prescribed by a sports physician or your orthopedic surgeon. It is used for patients who have ligament damage. It will help protect the ligaments after surgery and help to increase the stability of the ligaments. This brace should be worn until your physiotherapist or surgeon tells you not to. Because of the metal parts of this knee brace support it is great to wear while running but not recommended for most other sports. • Prophylactic knee brace—these are worn to protect your knee from being injured during contact sports. Although they are designed to protect an uninjured knee you should not wear them for regular use. They are inexpensive and can be bought without a prescription. • Arthritic knee brace—this knee support brace is designed specifically for people who have been diagnosed with arthritis. Their main function is to reduce pain, promote stability, and minimize the chance of having surgery. • Functional knee brace—this knee support brace is designed for people with existing injuries such as MCL (medial collateral ligament), ACL (anterior cruciate ligament), or PCL (posterior cruciate ligament) damage. This knee support brace is durable and lightweight. When seeing your orthopedic doctor for you knee injury they will determine which knee support brace you will need.