" An Arthritis Knee Brace Can Be Part of Your Treatment! "

An arthritis knee brace can help provide support, stability and pain relief for people with arthritis. They should be considered as a complimentary form of treatment and would fit in a class of alternative treatments for arthritis. A knee brace should never be used to replace any conventional type of treatment and should only add to it.

The knee is broken down into 3 components: the medial or inside, the lateral or outside and behind the knee cap or patellofemoral. Most of the time knee braces are prescribed for patients with loss of cartilage in one of these components, known as unicompartmental knee damage. Osteoarthritis usually develops on the medial side of the knee.

But What Kind of Brace?

With this brace you simply slide it over the foot and up to the knee. The fit should snug but not to tight as to cut off circulation. This brace will keep your knee warm and provide mild support and compression. It is available in most drug stores and works well with patients who have mild to moderate arthritis of the knee.

A semi-rigid brace known as an “unloader-style” is molded from plastic and sometimes even carbon fiber.

Hinges molded into each side of the brace limit side to side movement and add stability. It relieves pain by taking away internal pressure on the knee joint. These braces are custom fit and usually cost more than 600 dollars. Fortunately many insurance companies will cover some or all of the cost with a doctor’s prescription.

Adjustment to this type of brace can take up to a month to get used to, and they usually don’t provide comfort right away. However, in time the brace can help a great deal especially in patients with cartilage damage. One draw back to this type of arthritis knee brace is that it can actually make your knee weaker, so experts suggest taking it off from time to time to maintain normal knee strength.

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