Brace Yourself!

Finding an easy solution to your problems is what most people like to do, athletes included. Injuries can range in severity, from minor just needing a little ice and you’re back the next day to major where you are out for weeks going to physical therapy or even having surgery to help fix the injury.

For some injuries, braces can be seen as that quick fix for an injury. But do they help you heal? What do braces really do for you?

Volleyball player is able to play while wearing a
a supportive knee brace.
Photo from physical therapy products 

Braces have two primary uses; worn as a preventative device or as a rehabilitation or treatment device as mentioned in an article about ankle braces.  When using a brace for preventative measures you’ll want to wear your brace while performing an activity that may put you at risk of injuring your ankle or knee.  Ankle patents should wear a brace during sports such as tennis, basketball and volleyball whereas knee injury patents should where the brace when playing contact sports such as football.

Depending on the severity of your injury, depends on the type of brace that you use.  Doctors may suggest a certain type of brace for support after surgery and a different brace for strengthening the knee when exercises aren’t able to strengthen the knee.  

Communications major, Alicia Van Bourg, talks about the use of knee braces after she had surgery on her knees.  “I had a custom brace made to be used right after surgery because of my hyper flexibility,” said Van Bourg. “I use it when I work out, if I feel at all unstable or if I will be doing something that would make my knees vulnerable, like running or climbing.”

Some people are afraid that braces my actually increase the number of injuries an athlete mentioned in an article on familydoctor.com.  Intramural basketball player Zeke Lyons, 21, has similar feelings about braces after he hurt his ankle playing in a basketball game. “I’ll wear an ankle brace while I play until its better, but worry that if I wear them all the time it will make my ankles weak,” Lyons said.