Knee Braces (Genutrain)

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.

Braces: helping or hurting you?

I commonly get asked about whether or not to wear braces.  So here's my thinking behind it all and when to wear it and when not to wear it.

Braces are intended to lend support to structures that are weak or be used to aid in recovery.  So there are two situations in which you want to wear a brace as I just mentioned.  When someone has a recent injury, i.e. throws out their back, sprains their ankle, sprains their knee, has a car accident, a brace can help keep things more stable and help prevent the injured area from getting any worse. In this case, the brace is there to help increase stability to the injured area, decreasing the movement, and ultimately decreasing the amount of pain.

The second situation is when there is no stability any more because the ligaments are too loose to support it, or when the ligaments have actually completely torn, causing excessive degrees of motion to the joint.  In this case, the motion in the joint cannot be restrained by the ligaments any more and in normal activity, may result in a new acute injury, if not braced.  The brace is used to replace the ligaments, or passive structures of a joint.

Now the do's and don'ts according to my logic.......

As I mentioned in the first situation, after severe pain  or recent injury, braces can help reduce pain and help in returning to daily activities.  BUT, if a brace is worn too long, it can begin inhibiting involuntary muscle contraction from deeper stabilizing muscles which are meant to help support the area, resulting in greater weakness.  So for example, after having back surgery, a brace may be recommended so that there is greater support to allow for normal activities of daily living.  But after pain and inflammation have gone done and are tolerable, there should be effort made to reconnect to the stabilizer muscles to engage them in bracing your back.  In all honesty, who wants to have to wear a brace the rest of their life unless they really had to?!?!??

The second situation, where a ligament, let's say an ankle sprain, has repeatedly been sprained for a soccer player over several years and now there are just about no ligaments left.  An ankle brace may be appropriate to help the soccer player feel more stable during running as to prevent any additional injuries to their ankle.  In this case, exercise is still important to make the musculature as dynamic and reactive as possible, but it will probably not be enough, so a brace would be important to add an additional layer of support/stability.

I hope this helps clear up any confusion as to when and when not to wear a brace.

Again, this is just advice, and the best thing would be to ask your local physical therapist for specific instructions.  Take care and don't "brace" yourself too much!! =)

Dr. J Wong