Wearing knee braces during cycling helps you avoid or prevent overuse knee injuries. As cycling requires repetitive knee movements during peddling, it exerts high pressure on the knee joints. This pressure may cause knee pain and other discomforts. Bracing provides your knees with an extra layer of protection, preventing injuries. Knee braces may also help you speed up recovery following a knee injury.
How do knee braces work for cycling?
Anterior knee pain or patellofemoral pain is one of the most common complaints among cyclists. The condition hurts your knee from the front of the knee joint, also known as the patella or kneecap.
The main cause of hurting your knees during cycling is the poor flexibility and strength of the pelvis or lower limb. Other common causes may include incorrect cleat alignment, poor cadence, or incorrect saddle position. The patellofemoral pain usually results in anterior knee pain, grinding, rubbing, or clicking sound, and tenderness.
Bracing your knees may also help you in many ways during cycling. For example, they help provide cyclists with proprioception, stability, support, and moisture-wicking medical-grade compression levels. Thus, it helps protect your knees from external forces and keeps them active or safe throughout your cycling sessions.
How do knee braces help relieve pain?
If you feel pain and other discomforts after cycling, knee braces can help you relieve pain. They provide your knees with enough compression that helps boost your blood circulation. Consequently, they help speed up recovery following a knee cycling injury. If you have gone through knee surgery, wearing knee braces may help improve healing due to continuous compression and support.
Things to consider before wearing knee braces?
Experts suggest a few precautions before choosing or wearing knee braces. For example, you must take care of the brace support level, brace type, and materials used to design the braces. As well as this, you must wear braces that are properly fitted around your knee joint. Knee braces are designed in different forms, including hinged knee braces, neoprene knee braces, patellofemoral knee braces, and compression knee sleeves. You must always consult your GP and let them decide on the best knee braces or supports accordingly.