According to health experts, one out of every four persons in the United States suffers from persistent knee discomfort. The statistics are likely to go higher when it comes to worldwide statistics.
Therefore, that indicates that most people are suffering from serious knee problems in silence. Are you among them, or do you know someone who falls between the brackets?
A knee brace is used to reduce knee discomfort and promote mobility. If you’ve chronic knee pain and you need the knee brace, you might be wondering whether you can wear it over your pants.
Yes, you can wear the knee brace over the pants, but you must ensure that the brace is secure and in full working order at all times. That means you can wear the knee brace over thinner and tighter pants. Typical examples are skinny jeans, yoga pants, tights, leggings, and even running trousers.
Now, can you wear a knee brace under the pants? Let’s explore more about the knee brace wearing below.
Can You Wear a Knee Brace Under or Over the Pants?
An orthopedic surgeon or a friend might have advised you to use a knee brace. However, you might have probably forgotten to address a very crucial point from their advice: should you wear the knee brace under or over the pants?
Wearing a Knee brace over the pants
The practice of wearing the knee brace over pants may seem like an old-fashioned decision, but it is the preferred knee support for most people.
The benefits of wearing a knee brace over the pants include;
- The knee brace is kept away from the skin by wearing it over pants. As a result, it won’t collect the body secretions that make it smelly.
- Wearing a knee brace over the pants means that you can take it off or on anytime. It also means that if your brace starts to slip or even become uncomfortable, you may quickly adjust it. That might not seem like a huge concern at first, but you’ll quickly discover how annoying it is to remove your pants every time you need to adjust the brace.
- According to most people wearing a knee brace over pants is far more comfortable than wearing it beneath them. Putting pants over the brace makes your knee feel bulky, affecting the free brace’s movement.
- Wearing a knee brace over pants reduces skin irritations. You can remove the brace over the pants when you don’t need it. For example, while sitting.
- Wearing a knee brace over the pants reduces excessive sweating.
Wearing Knee Brace under Pants
The advantages of wearing a knee brace under the pants include the following;
- Wearing a knee brace under the pants gives your knee joint the most direct support, especially for the injuries that need continuous tightening.
- Wearing a knee brace under the pants gives your knee joint the most direct support, especially for the injuries that need continuous tightening.
- Although it may appear unusual, wearing the knee brace in contact with the skin feels more reassuring. When you’re sure that your knee is adequately supported, you will go about your daily activities without worries.
- Wearing the knee brace under the pants means that the jeans will protect them for the brace to last longer. Pants protect it from frequent bumps and scratches.
- Wearing a knee brace with moisture-wicking capabilities underpants lets you keep the knee joint, particularly behind the knee, dry.
How to Wear Knee Brace with Pants for the Best Protection
Whichever method you choose to wear the knee brace (over or under the pants), the whole process may appear like a simple task, but it is typically the most challenging thing to learn on how to use a knee brace.
Here is the systematic hack to help on how to wear knee brace with pants for the best protection;
Step 1: Find the Right Knee Brace Style
The type and severity of your knee injury determine the style of knee brace that you need to use. For mild knee sprains, you need a compression sleeve.
However, for the more serious knee fractures and tears, you need the heavier-duty hinged knee braces reinforced with either plastic or metal.
In most cases, it’s the physician who will take the initiative to determine the suitable knee brace style of your injury.
Step 2: Apply the Knee Brace to the Affected Knee
First, you need to decide whether you’re wearing the knee brace over or under the pants.
If you’ve opted to wear it under the trousers, you need to roll it upwards and expose the leg to the level of the thighs. After that, slip the knee brace up to the level of the injured knee and lower the pants.
If you don’t want the knee brace to come in direct contact with your skin, maybe due to allergy issues or your personal choice, slide the brace over the trouser until it rests comfortably over the injured knee.
If you have the wrap-style knee brace, you only have to place the inside of the brace against the knee, then stretch the straps and wrap them around.
Step 3: Ensure the Brace Is At the Center of the Knee
To know whether the knee brace is at the center of the knee cap, a small hole found in most braces will help you know whether you should adjust it a little or if it’s well fixed in the middle position.
If the kneecap is visible through the brace’s small hole, then you’ve worn it correctly. Wearing the knee brace at the center of the knee offers great comfort, ensures the skin is well ventilated, and promotes fast recovery from the injury.
Importantly, you should align the knee brace so that the hole won’t pinch or catch your skin. Finally, as you adjust the brace within the knee and ensure that it doesn’t slip downwards recklessly, make it tight and more secured in its position.
Step 4: Makes the Straps Tight Once the Knee Brace Is Properly Positioned
If you’re using the compression sleeve, you need the additional straps to secure the brace. The brace shouldn’t also be too tight.
It’s recommended that if one or two fingers cannot fit into the space left between the knee brace and your leg, then you need to relax the brace slightly.
Conclusion
Knee braces and crucial therapeutic knee support items will help you bounce back from mild to severe knee injury faster. Unfortunately, sometimes you will be given knee braces without instruction on how to wear them.
After extensive research and experimentation on the most ideal way to wear knee braces, it’s clear that wearing braces over pants is the most logical solution.
Well, requirements might change based on the advantages listed above and that will affect how you will wear the knee braces. There is no right or wrong way, it’s all about choosing the one that works best for you.