What does a knee brace do?

Are you in agony with knee pain? Are you tired of people telling you to “walk it off”? Well, fret not! A knee brace might just be your saving grace. Let’s get into what exactly a knee brace does and how it can aid in your recovery.

The Basics

A knee brace is an orthopedic device worn around the knee joint to provide support and stability. These braces come in various shapes and sizes depending on the injury, with most being made from neoprene or elastic material for maximum comfort.

Why Use One

A common misconception about knee braces is that they are only used by athletes. While that may be true, anyone experiencing any type of pain should consider using one as well!

Knee braces help alleviate both short-term discomforts like swelling while also improving long-term stability problems such as arthritis or repetitive stress injuries.

As medical devices go, knee braces are much cheaper than other options such as physical therapy sessions, surgery or hiring someone to push you around everywhere because sadly walking hurts too much now..

Who Can Benefit From Wearing a Knee Brace

So.. do I really need this thing? Here’s the thing – almost anyone can benefit from wearing a knee brace, especially if we fall into either of these categories:

-You’ve experienced some form of injury [torn ligament sounds fun]\
-Your doctor has diagnosed you with tendonitis [also known as Tennis Elbow]\
-Or if simple tasks cause ongoing minor but nagging pain

How Knee Braces Work

I know what y’all thinking , “It’s just a piece of cloth stitched together…?” However! They work INSANELY well!

Support Your Joints

Remember all those anatomy classes ya’ll skipped? Each year 15 million Americans experience chronic joint [don’t even think about googling that] problems like tennis elbow, bursitis or tendinitis.

A knee brace helps support your joints and relieve any tension running through the muscles connected to them. This is great for people who suffer from arthritis, tendonitis [ “-itises” everywhere!], or any other condition affecting their bones and muscles.

Decrease Pain [FINALLY!]

The most obvious benefit of a knee brace is its ability to reduce pain. By providing extra padding to your joint area, these braces help absorb shock caused by movement in directions you wouldn’t normally move without the injury [or just naturally]. This then distributes pressure evenly among different parts of your leg which essentially decreases any high-tension stress spots causing discomfort.

Additionally with comfort comes less worry about posture (jk.. we all know y’all slouching as ya read this).

Plus , let’s be real 😉 our knees aren’t 20 years old anymore .

Types Of Knee Braces

So much cake so little time!

When it comes to knee braces there are five unique types each serving its purpose:

  1. Prophylactic Braces\
  2. Functional Braces\
  3. Rehabilitative Braces\
    4.Unloading/valgus Readjustment Brace \
    5.Post-operative bracing

Prophylactic Knee Braces

These are the go-to type if you’re involved in sport(such as football). These don’t wait until the damage has been done but can potentially prevent an injury from happening entirely!

Not saying Christano Ronaldo got his abs by wearing this kind of knee-brace… BUT IT WOULDN’T HURT TO SPREAD THE RUMOR!🤷‍♀️

Functional Knee Braces

Unlike prophylactic braces these focus on sustaining already existing injuries while supporting capabilities needed at specific athletic events[heck even dancing].

Say ta-ta to the limping and “ouchs”… omg my heart is breaking while I type this.

Rehabilitative Knee Braces

As the name suggests these bad boys are what you use when your leg is healing from an injury, as they keep your knee cap in place, encouraging it to heal correctly. Which speeds up recovery time!

I mean who can say no to extra Netflix time right?

Unloading/Valgus Readjustment Brace

‘Unloading’ & ‘valgus readjustment’ sound like Daft Punk’s latest album… minus their glam outfits of course 😂

Which ever way ya’ pronounce them; These focus on combatting stress points during physical activity especially if there’s prolonged pressure exerted onto one side .

Welp! now bend-joint pain has nothing on us!

What To Look For In A Knee Brace

Okay , so I got y’all convinced right? Now that we established knee braces offer a ton of benefits …

Wait let’s pause for a second –Just because you can get high off cough syrup doesn’t mean add croutons to salad .. This means selecting the correct brace type based on what exactly our problem areas are!

Here are few things you want to consider:

  1. Comfort
  2. Level Of Activity\
  3. The Severity Of Your Injury\
    4.How Often You Plan On Wearing It

How Long Can You Wear Them For?

How long do I gotta wear these things ? Short or ongoing [hand me over all your cheesecake first].

The answer varies person-to-person, but typically knee braces are intended for short term use until an individual’s muscle memory situation normalises itself or till more definitive treatment can be found . However depending also whether it provides well-fitting its quite possibly safe for longterm use.

So bear in mind ye mateys..no matter how long it takes we gotta push through..but with our ”knee braces” pushing will have a whole new meaning.

Removing Your Knee Brace At Night

Okay before ya’ll go napping without putting your brace on because “sleep is life chilllll” . Ahem… these bad boys are typically not too difficult to remove and put back on, although this may vary based on the type you get.

Ensure that when removing , do so gently as yanking it off carelessly might worsen any underlying damage done till then !

NO MORE NAGGING MOMENTARY RECOVERY STALLS [except from the cheesecake coma obvs]!!

Are There Any Risks Involved?

Ya’ll know everything in life comes with an expiry date right? So does knee discomfort relief…. eventually …

But besides straight up wearing out over time there aren’t many distinct risks associated with using one of these orthopedic devices (phew). Although ensure that:

-You purchase well-fitted knee braces\
-Also try stretches/stretching starting slowly if/when You decide to relinquish usage .

Of course talk to your doctor first….. but hey who would want more quality life days !

So alas dear comrades! Behold information about knee braces has been gained by thee… Say good-bye to struggle-time endless limps!

Please note: Use of humor or sarcasm was purposeful.If some times wasn’t meant funny i deeply apologize …Like I said previously never tried Coke 🙂 !

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