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Knee braces for skiing help by providing your knee more support after an injury or they can be used to help prevent injury. Knee Braces range from simple elasticated knee sleeves, all the way to structured, professionally fitted knee braces. So it can be daunting to decide which one to get if you need one. Throughout this article, we will explain the best types of knee brace for skiing.
Ski Knee Brace After Injury
After an injury to the knee, your physical therapist, consultant or surgeon might recommend that you wear a brace. A skiing knee brace is not to replace the need for good physical therapy and rehabilitation but an addition to it. If you have had an injury to your knee, it may have caused damage to tissues that have needed time to repair and may have therefore become weak. In many injuries of the knee, the quadriceps muscles will often become inhibited and, therefore, functionally weak.
James McCormack is a Physical Therapist who specialises in knee, foot & ankle injuries. www.james-mccormack.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Skiing Knee Brace for Professional Skiers
Skiing has a high rate of injury across the board. Professional skiers are often pushing their limits in training and in competition. Often the limits are related to their injury and they may be returning to the slopes as soon as possible, much earlier than might be advised for a recreational skier.
In these cases, a brace to offer a reminder that they are still recovering from an injury might be helpful. This might just remind them that they do still need to have some limits even if pain or function is not limiting them.
Knee Braces for Skiing Recreationally
Recreational skiing can be gently sliding along in snow-plough on a beginner’s slope, jumping out of a helicopter and skiing off-piste in challenging terrain, and everything in between. Ages, health, strength and fitness also vary widely among recreational skiers.
Recommending the best brace for “a skier” is not going to be satisfactory for many skiers. You are best to discuss with your physical therapist, consultant or surgeon and see what they advise is best for you.
The Best Knee Brace for Skiing
Compressive Ski Knee Brace
The Neenca compressive sleeve is a good option for those that need little support but would benefit from the compression that increases proprioception and awareness of the knee’s position. This is slim and doesn’t feel bulky to wear under clothing. It is also breathable and easy to wash.
The springs on the knee’s side help reduce excess knee bend and help you feel more in control.
Structured Knee Brace For Skiing
DonJoy Performance Bionic
The DonJoy Performance Bionic can be used as a knee brace for skiing. It has short sidebars to provide stability without feeling cumbersome. It has been designed for sports, so it is made of sweat-wicking material and can be easily washed. It also has a non-slip design to keep it in position.
The Donjoy Performance Bionic is more robust and structured support than the Neenca and is often used by individuals with mild arthritis.
Bauerfeind GenuTrain S
The Bauerfeind GenuTrain S is a long brace with hinged side bars for good lateral stability and support. It has been designed to be used for sport, so it is flexible and provides some compression to increase proprioception. It is, therefore, a very good knee brace for skiing.
It is on the higher end of the price range. It is fully washable and durable so it can be used for many seasons on the slopes as well as for summer sports.
It is one of the most supportive knee braces for skiing on the market, but it is still relatively slim and lightweight. We recommend this to a lot of our patients who have recovered from an MCL or ACL injury
Best Knee Brace for Skiing After ACL Repair
See our related article all about the best knee braces after ACL injury, which include ACL knee brace for skiing: ACL Braces
Physiotherapy with James McCormack
This is not medical advice. We recommend a consultation with a medical professional such as James McCormack. He offers Online Physiotherapy Appointments weekly.