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Which Knee Support?
Selecting the right knee support for you can depend on various factors that include affordability and whether you have a specific injury.
How much support do I need?
The level of support is clearly dependant on how severe your injury is. Your qualified medical practitioner will advise you on the seriousness of your injury. The level of support can be assessed in terms of how much compression &/or how much stability it provides.
Which Support is best for me?
There are various types of knee support on the market today, some with more innovative design than others, though general speaking, like so many things in life, you usually get what you pay for. These are the main types of knee support available:
• Open Patella Knee Supports
The open patella knee support is the same as a standard knee support, with a circle cut into the front of the support to relieve pressure on the kneecap, providing more freedom of movement to the knee. Some of these supports will also have a stitched-in buttress to help provide additional support to the patella.
• Closed Patella Knee Supports
A standard knee support is generally a closed patella support. With the kneecap covered, this makes a good support to help protect the knee from minor impacts in sports. The closed patella support also helps provide more compression to the patella region.
• Wrap around knee supports
A wrap around knee support does what is says on the tin – it wraps around! They are usually a one size fits all knee support. The benefits of this type of knee support is that is easy to put on, especially useful if the injury has just occurred and putting on a more fitted knee support is rather painful. The compression for this type of knee support can be increased to suit, simply by wrapping tighter. The disadvantage with this type of support is that is less comfortable to wear and offers less effective compression than an anatomically fitted knee support.
• Stabilised Knee Supports
Stabilized knee supports have additional features to offer a higher level of support than a standard knee support. Stabilized knee supports usually have flexible springs on the sides of the support to help keep the knee more stable in against lateral forces. For ultimate lateral support, choose a hinged knee support – these tend to be expensive, and for maximum benefit from these, request that it is fitted for you – an ethical retailer will be able to provide this.
Which material, Neoprene or other?
Neoprene is a widely used material in the production of all kind of sports supports. Neoprene knee supports will provide good heat retention to aid the healing process (though it important to use ice in the first 48 hours following an injury, to reduce swelling and provide pain relief – I’m sure you’ve heard of R.I.C.E before). If choosing a neoprene knee support, choose one with a high level compression-graded neoprene, the sort of neoprene used by professional surfers. The neoprene will come in various thicknesses; a 5mm support will provide a good level of heat and compression
Some supports may be a combination Lycra and polyurethane, these can offer greater support than neoprene, and more comfort resulting from a thinner material and a better overall fit. This generally gives a lot less bunching at the back of the support, common in many knee supports.
Other supports with other such innovative materials can provide effective wicking properties, to remove excess perspiration. This is particularly important if using in activities.
With or without straps?
Some supports have straps above and below the knee for added compression. These straps also provide resistance against the support slipping, particularly useful if used in activities.
Fitting your knee support:
Most knee supports are unisex, however there are some women’ specifically designed supports such as the Vulkan Advanced Elastic range or the Muller Life Care range.
For best fit, Lycra & Polyurethane supports should be manipulated first with some minor stretching of the support prior to use – always follow manufacturers instructions.
Note:
Always follow medical advice. It is important to seek treatment from a qualified professional for accurate injury analysis.
We hope you recover well.
Sports Injury Store (UK)
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