Sports Knee Braces

Sports Knee Braces

Using sports knee braces is not a novel idea. However, it is only recently that sports knee braces have become some sort of a controversial topic.

On one end of the spectrum are people sporting the many benefits of wearing sports knee braces as a means of preventing sports-related injury, while on the other end are those who say that sports knee braces hardly make any difference and may even have the potential of increasing the risk injuries.

Athletes are likewise neutral in their acceptance of sports knee braces. Mainly, they are worried that sports knee braces might hamper their performance. This is especially true for “skill” players, or those who play forward, running backs, and any other positions where speed and agility are the focus.

Those players who play defense are more likely to wear sports knee braces as their function depend less on agility and speed but on strength.

However, the question remains: do sports knee braces work?

When practitioners of sports medicine are still debating over this issue, it would be difficult to tell. One thing is certain: the choice of whether or not to wear sports knee braces rests entirely on the wearer.

Types of Braces

Knee braces for sports are divided into two broad categories. These are:

Functional Knee Braces

The objective of this type of knee braces is to help support knees that are weakened due to injury. It is designed to function as a substitute for ligaments that have been damaged as a result of the injury.

The human knees are composed of two essential compartments. In some knee injuries, only one compartment is damaged, leaving the remaining uninjured knee compartment to its own devices, supporting the entire body weight. In order to lessen the stress on this uninjured part as well as prevent the injured area from further collapsing, functional knee braces are worn.

Sports knee braces of this type are meant to reduce movement in the affected area and provide necessary support. In doing this, the braces helps speed up recovery and prevents further injuring the damaged area.

Prophylactic Knee Braces

The main objective of prophylactic knee braces is to prevent knee injuries. In high-risk sports, which includes most contact sports such as football, these sports knee brace types are recommended to be worn by athletes. The brace is supposed to reduce the risk of sustaining injury to the knees, which are the body’s largest and most exposed joint.

The first of this type of sports knee braces was popularized some time in the 1970s when they were tested on NFL players. Ever since, several studies have been conducted, investigating the injury rate of players who wear braces versus those who do not wear any braces.