Should I Wear a Knee Brace While Playing Football?
Football is among the most high-impact sports involving sudden movements. Extreme movements, which increase the risk of a knee injury. According to research, knee injuries comprise 58% of all major injuries in football—a pretty high rate! [1]
The most common injuries in this sports setting are those to the medial collateral ligament (MCL), anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), and meniscus.
Preventing knee injuries is crucial, as they're severe enough to sideline you in your football career. One popular protective tool that can protect your knee joint is a knee support for football.
We often hear one question from some concerned football players: “Should I wear a knee brace while playing football?” What is a brace in football? It's actually a support that not only protects but also prevents re-injury to your knee joint.
Knee Injuries and Their Severity
Several ligaments and tendons surround your knee joint to maximize support. They are also easy to damage while running, twisting, or facing a hard tackle while playing.
This can lead to damage to the ligament, cartilage, or meniscus. So, should I wear a knee brace while playing football? Yes, the following are ways they can help:
- Cartilage Injury
Cartilage lesions of the knee joints impact 60% of athletes in high-contact sports such as football. [2] These injuries occur as a result of sudden, hard blows or traumatic twisting of the knee while playing sports. Symptoms include pain, swelling, locking, or catching of the knee joint. In severe cases, athletes may be unable to extend their legs.
Returning to play without fully healing can lead to osteoarthritis, potentially ending your football career. In fact, if you have an anterior cruciate ligament tear and cartilage injury, the risk of osteoarthritis is fivefold.
In such cases, it is recommended to seek a doctor's help. An open patella knee brace is also helpful in managing the condition.
- Tendon Injury
Tendons are structures that connect muscles and bones. Tendon injuries can be divided into strains and tears. The patellar tendon, located on the front of the knee, helps extend the leg, along with the surrounding muscles.
Repeated hits during football damage this crucial tendon. However, these injuries can be prevented if you wear football knee bands while playing football.
For minor injuries, when a tendon is partially torn, rest and physiotherapy are the first line of treatment, which effectively helps the tendon heal.
A complete tear is highly disabling and doesn't heal with physiotherapy. Therefore, for such tears, surgery is often the only solution to return to normal.
- Meniscus Injury
Your knee joint has two C-shaped cartilages on the medial tibia and lateral condylar joint. They cushion and protect the knee joint, acting as shock absorbers.
However, meniscal tears occur when your knees are suddenly twisted in an already bent state while playing. That's why it's recommended to wear a knee brace while playing football.
You may experience pain, swelling, and a feeling of the knee joint locking. Moreover, treatment depends on the severity of the injury. Minor injuries are typically managed through rest, ice, compression, and elevation. A specialized knee brace for football players is recommended to alleviate pain and prevent further injury.
Precautions for Football Enthusiasts to Protect Their Knees
This highly demanding sport, football, comes with a risk of injury. Should I wear a knee brace while playing football? What are the measures for football knee protection from any unfortunate injury? These are:
- Warm-up Exercises
Jumping into direct play without a prior light warm-up can badly injure your tendons, cartilage, ligaments, and meniscus. However, warm-up exercises for fifteen to twenty minutes before the actual sport prepare you for the rigorous stages of football.
Players can start by jogging for a few minutes to raise their heart rate and increase blood flow to their muscles, followed by dynamic stretches of the thigh, hamstring, and calf muscles to improve mobility and flexibility.
Players can also do squats, lunges, side kicks, back rotations, and leg swings to prevent knee injuries.
- Exercise to Strengthen Leg Muscles
Strong leg muscles are crucial, as your knees must bear both body weight and external forces during football.
Strength training and flexibility exercises enhance endurance and reduce the risk of injury. So, work on strengthening your glutes, hamstrings, core, and calf muscles.
- Wear Knee Braces
Should I wear a knee brace while playing football? That's something you all wonder about. The answer is yes.
One of the many compelling reasons to wear this knee support for football is its ability to prevent injuries. Not only this, it provides stability, reduces pain by limiting movement, prevents re-injury if you have had one before, and boosts your confidence.
- Play Football at the Appropriate Venue
You might be surprised to see this in preventing knee injuries. Well, it plays a significant role, as the venue impacts your performance. If the ground is wet, refrain from playing or training, as it increases your risk of injury.
Also, exposure to severe hot weather has a detrimental effect on mental health as well as increasing the risk of head injuries. So, training or playing at an appropriate venue and environment helps prevent football injuries.
- Correct Kicking Skills
Often, you encounter injuries due to the wrong kicking skills. Ensure you use the correct techniques during training and play.
While taking sudden turns, change direction by turning on the balls of your feet instead of twisting through your knee joint. This can significantly reduce the risk of knee injuries.
- Proper Recovery and Rest
Proper rest and recovery are essential for most knee injuries, whether they involve the meniscus, ligaments, cartilage, or tendons. Right after the injury, cold compresses prevent swelling and inflammation.
Moreover, return to sports only when you're fully healed and recovered, as returning to play before complete recovery can lead to a more severe reinjury to the joint.
Knee Braces Specifically Designed for Football Enthusiasts
From a query like “Should I wear a knee brace while playing football?" to “Which brace should I wear?” Here are all your answers! These braces are specifically designed based on different injuries.
- Patella Knee Brace
The patella knee brace protects the kneecap on the front of the knee. Using a patellar band can reduce the tension on the patellar tendon, making it more suitable for people with patellar tendon injuries or patellar tendinitis.
What makes it the most suitable football player knee brace? It can manage pain by compressing the patellar tendon, thus stabilizing the patella.
- Hinged Knee Brace
A hinged knee brace provides more stability and protection to the knee joint and is used when you have a ligament tear (ACL, MCL), meniscal injury, or osteoarthritis.
This sturdy knee brace maintains joint position, preventing hyperextension and lateral movement during high-impact sports.
- Compression Knee Brace
A compression knee brace provides gentle pressure around the knee joint, increases blood flow, and helps reduce pain and swelling. It is commonly advised for players with dislocations, mild osteoarthritis, and discomfort.
Selecting Knee Braces Tailored to Your Needs
Playing football involves constant bending and twisting maneuvers, which put extreme stress on your knees. For football players and linemen, preventing injuries and alleviating pain is crucial. Football player knee braces are recommended options, such as Fivali’s knee braces.
We have a vast collection of knee braces in various designs, each tailored to a specific sport. We offer a month-long guarantee, quick and free shipping, and secure payment methods. Here is a list of some of the benefits and features Fivali knee braces provide:
- Should I wear a knee brace while playing football? You might think you can only wear football knee protection when you have an injury, but the reality is that you can use football knee bands even before the injury and during play. It ensures your knee remains protected during a high-impact collision, lateral rotation, or hyperextension.
- The Fivali hinged knee brace with an open patella is helpful for injuries such as ACL, MCL, meniscal tears, and osteoarthritis. Both players and linemen are involved in both offensive and defensive plays, and an American football knee brace is their ultimate solution for injury prevention. This football player's knee brace is lightweight and skin-friendly. It fits the leg well while distributing even pressure through the knee joint.
- If you have a patellar injury, Fivali also provides patellar knee braces. These football knee bands are small and adjust easily around the knee. These knee bands support the patellar tendon by relieving stress (present below the knee cap), reducing pain and discomfort.
The Fivali football knee pad is made of elastic fabric, providing flexible movement. It can be worn for an extended period, but should still be removed to prevent moisture accumulation and allow for proper breathing space.
These knee pads are also best to use after recovery to minimize the chances of re-injury and to provide joint stability.
The question, “Should I wear a knee brace while playing football?" has been answered. A knee injury during a contact sport, such as football, is quite common. Still, you can protect your joints and alleviate pain due to ligament or meniscus tears by wearing knee braces, such as patellar, hinged, or compression knee braces, which are often designed for football players. Visit the Fivali website for all your brace needs!
References
[1] Knee injuries in football.Available at: https://www.ajol.info/index.php/cme/article/download/71243/60201(Accessed: 22 May 2024)
[2] Knee Cartilage Injuries in Football Players: Clinical Outcomes and Return to Sport After Surgical Treatment: A Systematic Review of the Literature. Available at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/19476035231224951 (Accessed: 22 May 2024)
