Will a Custom Knee Brace Help me Heal Faster?
Custom Knee Braces
No. A Custom Knee Brace will NOT help you heal faster.
This is one of the biggest presumptions that most people have with custom knee braces. They come in after recently hurting their knee, and ask about getting a brace. They want to go skiing this weekend, and just do not quite feel like they are ready.
If you cannot do it without the brace, you cannot do it with the brace.
I’m going to say this again later for emphasis, but a knee brace is NOT a shortcut for proper rehab. It does not make you stronger, it does not increase your range of motion, and it does not increase your balance. All of those things can only be gained through proper rehab, and time.
Knee Brace benefits
A brace does provide other benefits. It increases the stability of your knee joint. This will help to ensure that you do not injure the same thing more, or injure something else in the knee. It provides stability to the actual knee joint but does not make your leg any stronger. Having it on your knee will also help with proprioception, and knowing where your knee is. It reminds you not to put it into a bad position. It also gives you confidence in knowing that if you are not strong enough to protect your knee on your own, you have a bit of back up with the knee brace. Just make sure that the brace does not make you over-confident, making you try something that you would not do without it.
Summary
The primary role of a brace is prevention. There are other braces that help with issues like arthritis, patella-femoral tracking, pre and post surgery, etc. But a Custom Knee Brace is to keep you from getting hurt again. Or, it can be to keep you from getting hurt in the first place. Many people will get a custom knee brace before getting hurt to avoid injury. The last thing that we want is for people to think that getting a custom knee brace is a shortcut for good rehab. It is not.
If you cannot do it without the brace, you cannot do it with the brace.
John Reinbolt, CAT(C)
