Have you ever twisted your knee, felt a little unstable in your knee, or had any kind of “pain” in or around your knee? Did you have surgery to fix it and it feels about 80% back to normal? And how many brace or taping products have you tried and had minimal relief?
As a volleyball player I know the importance of getting back on the court as soon as possible, but as a physical therapist I know the importance of proper training, muscle facilitation, and edema control. Only if I could find a brace that could marry the two…..
And I have!! I found a Bauerfeind product, more specifically the Genutrain knee brace, that does just that! I haven’t found a more form fitting knee brace out there that does what it’s suppose to do. After two knee surgeries (right ACL and medial meniscus and left medial and later meniscus arthroscopies) my knee continued to swell no matter how much I iced it. Even after it felt better and I was playing on it, it swelled up after 2 days of playing and I just knew I had to wait until the swelling went down.
Then my surgeon prescribed the Genutrain S (which gives you lateral support as well as edema control) and I played on the court and low and behold, my knee didn’t swell up at all! Now that I’ve been post surgical for about 1.5 years, I use the regular Genutrain brace to make sure that my knee doesn’t click or swell. It also reassures me, as a physical therapist, that my knee is functioning with maximal muscle activation when jumping and landing.
So here’s why this product is much better than any other:
1) The Omega pad delivers targeted pain relief at the patella and anterior meniscus with two friction points (Hoffa Pads) exerting pressure on the infrapatellar fat underneath the patella.
2) The “Train” line of Bauerfeind has a 3D active knit which helps reduce swelling while you play your sport.
3) The stability of the knee joint is positively influenced by the muscles through the focused stimulation of surface and deep-lying nerve tracts (proprioception increases).
4) Genutrain can stimulate the feedback mechanism (part of the reflex system) by allowing the proprioceptors in the muscles, tendons and joints to act as mediators (they send signals to activate active structures more).
5) With 8 different sizes and the potential to make a custom fit brace, the anatomically-contoured knitted support with integrated viscoelastic padding fits like a glove and is very easy to wear.
I wear this knee brace every time I play now for both security and for prevention. I highly recommend any person who has had any type of knee injury (acl strain, ligament reconstruction, patella tendonitis, patella dislocation, meniscus repairs, bursitis) to wear one and see the improvement in your focus for your sport rather than the pain in your knee.
