Knee Sleeve / Support recommendations

G

Gasolina

Professional
Background: I'm 30 yrs old, heavy build, doubles tennis 3x a week, basketball once a week. Starting to get constant knee pain more on the medial sides of the left and right knees. There's also pain on the lateral side but not so much.

I get more pain on the left knee, probably because my left leg is slightly longer than the right.

The pain is a lingering type, kinda acts up when bending the knees.

Any recommendations on what to get? The pain used to act up only after basketball but now feeling it after tennis. Only injury was a partial MCL tear on my right knee some 5 years ago.
 
Gasolina said:
Background: I'm 30 yrs old, heavy build, doubles tennis 3x a week, basketball once a week. Starting to get constant knee pain more on the medial sides of the left and right knees. There's also pain on the lateral side but not so much.

I get more pain on the left knee, probably because my left leg is slightly longer than the right.

The pain is a lingering type, kinda acts up when bending the knees.

Any recommendations on what to get? The pain used to act up only after basketball but now feeling it after tennis. Only injury was a partial MCL tear on my right knee some 5 years ago.
Click to expand...

If it's just a sleeve you're looking for

Rehband original blue, Tommy Kono sleeves, and the newer gray Rehbands are probably the best on the market.

But it sounds like you might need something closer to a brace? The sleeves would be worth a try though
 
Even the most trivial differences in leg length can cause severe knee and hip problems. One hopes you have footwear that accurately makes up for the difference. And even with such footwear, the anatomical anomaly may make your level of exercise with a heavy build problematic.
 
Itagaki said:
If it's just a sleeve you're looking for

Rehband original blue, Tommy Kono sleeves, and the newer gray Rehbands are probably the best on the market.

But it sounds like you might need something closer to a brace? The sleeves would be worth a try though
Click to expand...
Really liking the look of the TK sleeves. It's also nice that its sold in pairs. I remember during my MCL recovery I really favored one knee over the other.

Regarding my leg length problems, unfortunately I have no choice but to just suck it up. The length difference is too much for an insole and my podiatrist told me to get special shoes with heel lifts. lol now that's a good look.

Fortunately the only real sport I can't last long is running. Tennis and basketball rely on a variety of movements so my foot ligaments don't get punished as much than with running straight.
 
I had a meniscus knee injury in 1999.

I happen to ask my Dr about knee wraps, the the type that don't have substantial structural elements.

He is a well-know orthopedic teaching specialist. He said that the issue of knee wraps often comes up at weekly meetings at the medical school (or hospital?).

He said that they are all agreed that there is one benefit - it helps the knee in warming up and keeping warm.

On other benefits, there was not much settled.

A more serious knee brace such as a prescription custom-fit Don Joy brace can limit how far the knee can extend or maybe limit other motion. It has a heavy metal hinge that limits knee extension. After my knee operation, I wore one for a few years to stop - as I understood it - the leg below the knee from going forward or the knee from hyperextending because my Dr was unsure of how tight my ACL was. It was comfortable and not restricting to movement. My knee is OK now.

A friend with arthritis has two heavier duty wrap types with Velcro tighteners and maybe some stiffeners of some kind. He likes them a lot.
 
Last edited:
Gasolina said:
Really liking the look of the TK sleeves. It's also nice that its sold in pairs. I remember during my MCL recovery I really favored one knee over the other.

Regarding my leg length problems, unfortunately I have no choice but to just suck it up. The length difference is too much for an insole and my podiatrist told me to get special shoes with heel lifts. lol now that's a good look.

Fortunately the only real sport I can't last long is running. Tennis and basketball rely on a variety of movements so my foot ligaments don't get punished as much than with running straight.
Click to expand...

Also, i forgot about these, primarily because they do not fit the raw category i am familiar with

http://www.flexcart.com/members/elitefts/default.asp?m=PD&cid=300&pid=3014

Super heavy duty sleeves, might have some rubber support in them (which can actually add poundage to squats, whereas the others do not). These would probably be much closer to what you would need if it's really bad.

Can't say how comfortable they are though.
 
Thanks for the recommendations guys. I'll probably just stick to those TK straps. As somebody said on the thread, the most benefits you get is the compression, and for now I think that's all I need.

Don't really want to venture braces or anything with straps. I will use them during tennis/basketball so it needs to be agile as well.
 
Gasolina said:
Thanks for the recommendations guys. I'll probably just stick to those TK straps. As somebody said on the thread, the most benefits you get is the compression, and for now I think that's all I need.

Don't really want to venture braces or anything with straps. I will use them during tennis/basketball so it needs to be agile as well.
Click to expand...

I will say be careful with the TK sleeves sizing. If you get a size too small it will be a HUGE pain to put them on
 
I have some wrap arounds made by Stomatex. Not sure if you can still buy that brand anymore. They work well for me when I have soreness.

Also have a sleeve type I wear on occasion when only one knee bothers me.

Lately knees have been better so neither type worn for a while. Usually need them in the spring, I don't really know why.

Started wearing knee pads for basketball and volleyball too. Looks pretty dorky but they really help protect knees from impact injuries.
 
Chas Tennis said:
Do you know what the injury to your knee is?
Click to expand...
No real injury but they're just really sore / weak right now. Had a massage 2 days ago and helped a lot. They don't really get that sore before.

I think I'm just looking at injury prevention now. We all know how it sucks if you don't get to play
 
Gasolina said:
No real injury but they're just really sore / weak right now. Had a massage 2 days ago and helped a lot. They don't really get that sore before.

I think I'm just looking at injury prevention now. We all know how it sucks if you don't get to play
Click to expand...

There are many recent threads with information on knee injuries.

Search- meniscus .... knee pain ..... posture knee pain .. lateral collateral ligament ... medial collateral ligament ..

Look at the CharlieFedererer illustrations and discussions.

I'd take pain to be a clear indication of injury unless certain otherwise. (I hate to deal with the uncertainty of some pain - my wrist gives me a little light pain now after some strokes.....)

You need to know what is stressing your knee, first with a diagnosis of the injury by a qualified Dr who can examine you.

If you have posture problems you might be stressing some part of your knee's structure and - short or long term - developing a chronic condition. Posture issues are often difficult to diagnose.

I subscribe to the view that many - if not most- chronic injuries (permanent conditions) might result from failure to allow healing very early on. Continuing to play.....
 
Last edited:
Chas Tennis said:
I had a meniscus knee injury in 1999.

I happen to ask my Dr about knee wraps, the the type that don't have substantial structural elements.

He is a well-know orthopedic teaching specialist. He said that the issue of knee wraps often comes up at weekly meetings at the medical school (or hospital?).

He said that they are all agreed that there is one benefit - it helps the knee in warming up and keeping warm.

On other benefits, there was not much settled.

A more serious knee brace such as a prescription custom-fit Don Joy brace can limit how far the knee can extend or maybe limit other motion. It has a heavy metal hinge that limits knee extension. After my knee operation, I wore one for a few years to stop - as I understood it - the leg below the knee from going forward or the knee from hyperextending because my Dr was unsure of how tight my ACL was. It was comfortable and not restricting to movement. My knee is OK now.

A friend with arthritis has two heavier duty wrap types with Velcro tighteners and maybe some stiffeners of some kind. He likes them a lot.
Click to expand...


There are two other proven benefits of such a device:

1- Reminding you during play that you have a bum knee and to subconsciously take it easy

2- Get sympathy points from generous opposition
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Raul_SJ
Knee osteoarthritis question.
Replies
32
Views
15K
Raul_SJ
Raul_SJ
S
knee pains
Replies
8
Views
1K
sphinx780
sphinx780
K
Knee Problem
Replies
5
Views
2K
kelawai
K
syko735
Pain in left knee
Replies
7
Views
3K
princemidplus
P
crash1929
knee pain
Replies
11
Views
2K
crash1929
crash1929
Back
Top