Use of knee braces

[Lebell]

Hey guys,

Recently my doctor told me i might have damaged my knee caps a little bit (not too serious) and i should take it easy with training.

I did what he said,i only train 3 times a week now,bycicle an hour a day at least and walk a lot.

Also i bought some knee braces for support,here is my problem:everyone is telling me something else about using them,some say it's ok to wear them for a couple of hours non stop,others say you only wear them during training and then put them off because otherwise your knees are getting used to the braces too much.

That last one makes sense.

I'm almost 28 years,i'm about 80 kg,overall light build.

Who can enlighten me abiout the proper use of knee braces?

Thanks a lot in advance!

[Tom .C]

I'm no doctor and I've never played one on TV but I have had a lot of experience with knee braces. (Judo can be rough on knees) When recovering from a knee injury, I train with knee braces on. They warm up the knees and give support for twisting motions etc. I only wear them out of class while the knees are still producing pain. After the pain clears up, I will still wear them for several weeks while training, to prevent re-injury. Eventually I wean myself from the brace. That is the hard part because you get used to the braces and feel vulnerable without them.

[TheMightyMcClaw]

I used to wear knee braces as a protective measure, because I was TERRIFIED of knee injuries (my dad has horrible knees).
However, like you mentioned, I felt like I was starting to get too reliant on them, and stopped wearing them a while ago.

[bob]

Didn't we just cover this in depth like a week ago?

[bearich]

I generally wear a pair of knee braces just about everytime I do anykind of workout (due to having two blown ACLs in the past). But during the course of a normal day I don't wear them. There are times when I can get through a light workout just fine without them, but I perfer to have them on when I go to do a medium to intense work out just incase I might jam or twist it wrong.

Also, if you do use them for workouts, make sure you clean them out frequently as well.

[death pig]

If you've got bad knees then do everything you can to keep them braced and stable during exercise. Some people say they're a bad idea during training because they become a crutch, but unless you're squatting multiples of your bodyweight it really doesn't matter so much. Destroying your knee can be life-changing.

That said, I wouldn't wear them when not training, especially if you only have mild damage. After training, you might want to look into massage and heat packs to improve vascularity in the area.

(ps ask your doctor)

[ironlurker]

Didn't we just cover this in depth like a week ago?

I don't know how else to say it . . . :new_cussi

Individuals with ACL damage also have losses in proprioception of the knee, especially during the two months after injury. Using a brace during that time period should help with proprioception and may also control movement of the tibia and thus the forces placed on the ACL of the affected knee. Over longer periods of time, it is unclear that braces actually help with proprioception in ACL-deficient or ACL-repaired knees. It is also clear that the use of a brace changes the way in which muscles around the knee react to changes in knee position. Long-term, then, it is better to strengthen the ACL-recovered knee in a functional, sports-specific way and to rely on the improved strength to stabilise the knee, rather than using a brace as a permanent 'crutch'.

http://www.sportsinjurybulletin.com/...s-effects.html

[Lebell]

that's a nice one ironlurker.
i think i know what to do,thanks everyone!