Your Guide to Choosing the Right Knee Support Brace

When you suffer from an injury or some kind of chronic pain due to an illness, you may need support braces. Medical support braces are designed to help people recover and minimize the pain caused by injuries. 

There are many types of medical braces. Among these are knee braces. These are supports that are worn when the knee is painful or injured. Some people use them as protective gear while engaging in sports. Braces are from a combination of various materials such as foam, metal, straps, elastic material, and plastic. They can be in a variety of sizes, designs, and colors. There are various types of knee braces. Each one of these is used for a variety of reasons.

Rehabilitative Braces

These are used for weeks after an injury or surgery. They can keep the knee stable yet movement is still limited and slow while the injury is still healing.

Functional Braces

These braces lend support to knees that have been injured before. Athletes are the ones who usually wear them after being healed from a major injury. They are tasked to stabilize the knee as well as control the motion to avoid another injury from happening.

Prophylactic Braces

These support braces are intended to protect the knees from incurring injuries during contact sports like football. These braces are popular with athletes. Studies are ongoing about their health benefits.

Unloader Braces

These are intended for people to be relieved of arthritic pain. These braces help by shifting the weight of the knees’ damaged area to its stronger area.

Knee Sleeves

Technically speaking, these are not braces at all. However, they are the most common type of support for the knees. They work by giving compression around the knee joint. These help support the knee as well as control pain and swelling.

How to Choose a Knee Brace

When you are planning to buy a knee brace, you have to consider the various levels of protection from 1 to 3+. Level 1 braces offer the least support but they are the most flexible type like the knee sleeve. Level 2 braces, on the other hand, offer more protection than Level 1 braces. They may not be as flexible, but they provide a wide range of movement. Examples of these are wraparound braces and knee straps. They provide mild to moderate knee support. Level 3 braces can offer you the most support but only with limited movement. An example of these is a hinged knee brace. This kind of brace is also heavier in general. It is best used for someone who is recovering from surgery when knee movement is reduced, to prevent reinjuring oneself. Then there’s the maximum protection provided by 3+ Level braces. This is best for providing pain relief and support.