Should I wear knee braces when running?

Do you need to wear knee braces when running? The answer is no.

Wearing knee braces while running may make you feel "relaxed", but its mechanism relies on exogenous force to enhance the stability of the knee joint. Long-term wearing will change the mechanical distribution of the knee joint structure, which will lead to a decrease in muscle strength around the knee joint and reduce the stability of the knee joint.

Why do we see some runners wearing knee braces during the race? The main reason is that these runners already have symptoms of knee injury, but have to participate in the race. For example, professional athletes need to achieve good results in the race. Or, some runners finally have the opportunity to participate in their favorite race. Before the race, they have symptoms of knee pain, but they don't want to give up the race. At this time, they can wear knee braces for protection. However, runners must be aware that a race will aggravate the injury to the knee joint, so they must be carefully checked and treated after the race.

There is another situation where it is recommended to wear knee pads, which is during intense ball sports, such as basketball, football or badminton. During these sports, the knee joints will have to stop suddenly, twist, and change direction, which can easily lead to acute trauma to the joints. At this time, knee pads can play a cushioning role (especially for people with a history of injuries).

Running is a uniform and predictable exercise, without sudden stops or changes of direction, so the probability of acute knee injury is very low. Of course, the knee joint will also bear greater load pressure when running, so we runners should often strengthen the lower limb muscle strength training (not only around the knee joint, but also the muscles around the hip joint and ankle). Only strong muscles can strengthen the stability of the knee joint, avoid injuries and improve running efficiency, that is, let the muscles of the body achieve the role of "knee protection".

By extension, should patients with lumbar disc herniation wear lumbar braces? The same principle applies: wear a lumbar brace for protection during the acute phase; strengthen the back muscle strength training during the remission phase; if you want to do high-load lumbar spine movements, it is recommended to wear a lumbar brace to relieve the lumbar spine stress.