Knee pain can bring your life to a halt, but it doesn’t have to. A proper knee brace can help take the stress off your joints and give you greater mobility and comfort to carry you through your day-to-day. Research has found that knee braces can help manage knee pain caused by many conditions and are effective at reducing pain, loosening stiff joints, and reducing the amount of pain medication people use.
Choosing the best type of knee brace for you begins with figuring out which will give you the most support based on your anatomy and situation. An unloader knee brace could be the right choice if you suffer from a disease like arthritis or have experienced serious injuries or chronic pain and need increased support and stability throughout your day.
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at unloader knee braces, how they work, and the characteristics of an excellent knee brace. By the end, you should feel confident knowing if an unloader knee brace is or isn’t suitable for you.
How Unloader Knee Braces Work
Unloader knee braces can help people whose knee pain primarily affects one part of the joint. They’re commonly used among people with conditions such as osteoarthritis. The goal of an unloader knee brace is to unload weight from your knee and shift it from one compartment of your knee to another or into the brace itself. By strategically shifting your weight, unloader knee braces can provide you with greater mobility and reduced pain, so you can get back to doing what you love.
Who Should Use an Unloader Knee Brace?
Unloader knee braces can be effective for a wide variety of people, from athletes who have suffered ACL tears or other severe injuries to an individual who suffered a fall and damaged their knee. All of these people can see benefits in using an unloader knee brace to aid their recovery.
Furthermore, in the United States, 58.8 million people live with arthritis, with osteoarthritis being the most common form. On a global scale, the condition affects around 1 in 10 people. Additionally, increasingly high volumes of people are developing knee pain as a result of obesity, which is prevalent throughout America. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals that arthritis limits 1 in 10 U.S. adults and 1 in 4 suffer from severe joint pain.
If you are one of these people, you aren’t alone and have options. An unloader knee brace could be part of your pain management strategy. Although it cannot cure arthritis or any other joint disease, it can deliver the level of pain relief you need to get back to living life in a more regular way.
What to Look for In an Unloader Knee Brace
There are several essential qualities you should look for before buying an unloader knee brace. We’ll look at four of the most important:
- Stability Improvement
- Customization/Comfort
- Pain Relief
- Adjustability
Stability Improvement
First and foremost, an unloader knee brace should make it easier for you to move and balance. You’ll need to check a product’s testimonials and background to see if it improves stability and can shift weight off your impacted knee. The Ascender knee brace acts as its stabilizer, limiting the movement of the bending knee to reduce strain and contact between the patella and femur.
Customization/Comfort
Contrary to what many believe, you can’t just buy any knee brace, put it on, and experience immediate relief. Wearing a knee brace could worsen your pain if it isn’t fitted correctly or it isn’t contoured specifically to your needs. If you experience a knee injury or receive an arthritis diagnosis, you should first speak with your doctor. They can let you know whether or not wearing one would help or worsen your knee pain and what type of brace to look for.
If you get the green light, then you can proceed with finding the correct type of knee brace. If your doctor suggests a custom-fit model, you should look for a manufacturer with high-quality options that can give you precisely what you need. Customization ensures that the brace is designed to support your body best. Although there are many great over-the-counter knee braces, a customized knee brace can offer the most significant level of comfort and support.
Pain Relief
Knee braces are best when used alongside other knee pain treatments, like physical therapy. However, they can provide a noticeable difference on their own, allowing you to scale back on treatments you don’t like, such as taking daily pain medication.. The right knee brace for you will deliver noticeable results. Put simply, you’ll feel less pain when you wear it, and you’ll be able to move better because you feel better.
Look for brands that provide actual data and proof from customers who have tried their products. If you suffer from a disease like osteoarthritis, you should also ensure the brand you select for your knee brace understands the disease and its symptoms.
Adjustability
Suitable knee braces can be adjusted to suit your needs as they change and support other conditions. As you heal or as pain ebbs and flows, it is essential to be able to control the tightness, fit, and positioning of your brace. The right unloader knee brace will offer multi-compartment unloading, so you can choose exactly where to apply the proper pressure and support on any given day.
Benefits of Unloader Knee Braces
Research proves that unloader knee braces can reduce pain, improve mobility, and potentially slow down the progression of unicompartmental osteoarthritis (osteoarthritis affecting only one part of the knee). Other studies have found that wearing an unloading knee brace could delay the need for knee surgery.
If you decide to wear a knee brace, you can use it to:
- Reduce pain
- Improve mobility
- Soften stiff joints
- Decrease tension
- Improve stability
What Is The Best Unloader Knee Brace?
The Ascender by Icarus Medical is the best option if you’re on the market for an unloader knee brace. Featuring a customizable design, the brace alleviates up to 40 lbs off one knee in a lightweight design weighing under 1 lb.
In addition to being an excellent osteoarthritis knee brace, the Ascender is also suitable for people with sprains, ACL injuries, tears, or nerve pain. We use 3D printing to develop a knee brace that’s custom-fit to your leg. Learn more about the Ascender, or contact us today to speak with one of our representatives.
