Expert advice for putting on a medical knee brace, wearing a knee brace comfortably, and how best to protect yourself from future injury.
Whether you’ve just bought your first medical knee brace or you’re doing some research before you make a purchase, knowing how to put on a knee brace properly and how you can use it to protect yourself from further injury is essential to the success of your healing journey.
Why choose The Ascender knee brace? Well, it provides something no other brace can: it unloads over 40 pounds from the joint with a fully adjustable tensioning system and can help prevent injuries and make your daily activities more gratifying.
Using a data-driven approach to help you get back to doing the things you love, we are confident that a knee brace like The Ascender will help reduce your pain, unlike any braces you may have used in the past. Below are 10 steps for properly putting on The Ascender medical knee brace and why each step gets you closer to a more active future.
How To Put on The Ascender Medical Knee Brace
Step 1: Sit in a stable position at the edge of a chair with your knee brace in hand.
Our knee brace can be worn over form-fitting everyday clothing, activewear, or directly on the skin. Whichever way you choose to wear it, regular cleaning is essential to maintaining The Ascender’s condition and maximizing your brace’s performance.
Cleaning tip: The pads and straps can be hand washed or machine washed on delicate with cold water for your convenience. After it’s been washed, it can be air-dried before you put it back on. If you want to clean your brace frame, it’s best to use non-detergent soap. If for some reason it’s exposed to saltwater, make sure to rinse thoroughly with cold water immediately to prevent any damage.
Step 2: Undo all four back straps on your medical knee brace and attach the hook-and- loop back on the strap so they don’t tangle.
- Our hook-and-loop is easy & safe to use because it’s low maintenance and requires little to no upkeep. In addition, the fasteners last a very long time. Performance and effectiveness only decrease after a significant amount of use and can be replaced as needed. Hook-and-loop fasteners are also very strong and can hold a lot of weight without coming undone. These features will help provide the perfect fit and the right level of comfort for years to come.
Step 3: Loosen the two front straps on your medical knee brace by opening the hook-and-loop connection (do not remove from brace loops).
- The brace loops are a part of the frame. This design is intended to add to the knee brace’s integrity by reducing the number of components and making it more lightweight and efficient.
Step 4: Straighten your leg with a slight bend at the knee.
- This step is essential in making sure your brace fits correctly once your leg is fully extended. The energy stored during flexion in the Icarus Medical Knee Brace is returned to the user to assist the quadriceps in extending the leg back to straight efficiently. In addition, the slight bend in the knee ensures you don’t hyperextend your knee when returning your leg to a straight position.
Step 5: Place the medical knee brace on the leg with the middle of the hinge slightly above the kneecap average, pushing the brace onto the leg. The rigid brace shells should be touching the thigh.
- The medical brace will already be fitted to your leg, as we take great care to ensure that your brace provides the perfect fit and level of comfort needed to improve your movement. In addition, we take a lot of pride in every one of our engineer’s ability to design and custom-manufacture your medical knee brace through our rapid scan-to- 3D print manufacturing process. If for some reason, it doesn’t fit perfectly, we will make sure you get one that does.
Step 6: Re-fasten the hook-and-loop on two front straps (knee brace position on the leg should not change).
- The strength of the hook-and-loop relies on how the hooks are fixed in the loops and how much surface area is in contact. Both sides need to be applied entirely parallel to their counterpart surface to ensure that the fastener has the strongest bond possible.
Step 7: Attach two top, back straps, and the hook-and-loop firmly (not too tight.)
- Don’t tighten too much, and make sure to stop immediately if you feel any pain or discomfort. It needs to be form-fitting to prevent sliding but not so tight that you lose circulation or experience any bother to your leg.
Step 8: Attach strap below the knee and above the calf muscle firmly.
- If you feel significant discomfort, abnormal pain, change in sensation – undo the strap and contact a professional to ensure there is no medical reason why the brace doesn’t comfortably strap to your knee. But, again, the point is to help your knee feel better, not make it worse.
Step 9: To increase hinge tension on the Medical Knee Brace (leg straightened), turn the BOA dial clockwise. To release tension, pull the BOA dial down and turn to increase high pressure (resistance.)
- We are very proud of the adjustable tension on our medical knee brace for its ability to improve stability and support all types of physical activity. The variable-tension system on The Ascender knee brace can immobilize the joint at a high-tension stting while protecting the knee while gradually decreasing the tension and assistance level. It’s essential to release the tension occasionally. If you don’t know how much pressure is in the brace, release the tension and increase it again to the desired level.
Step 10: Stand and walk normally, adjust the level of tension on the medical knee brace required to provide support during activity.
- The knee brace should stabilize the joint, and the tensioning mechanism will allow you to modify the amount of assistance to address your needs. In addition, the knee brace will help generate a force that opposes the bending of the knee, so the knee feels significantly less weight when being used. Be sure not to over-tighten the brace tension. Always release the tension pressure when you take the knee brace off of your leg. When you first get your knee brace, wear it for only a few hours a day to break it in. Doing this will help your body become adjusted to the extra assistance.
Our team at Icarus is excited for the start of your journey back to doing the things you love, free from pain. We think you will find The Ascender to be a great addition to your daily life. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments below or contact us directly. Also, stay tuned to all of the exciting things happening at Icarus by subscribing to our newsletters.
Note: Most braces are covered by insurance, and the average cost of a knee brace is under $200. The right knee brace for you depends on your injury and the degree of assistance needed, so please consult your doctors if you have any questions.
