Knee pads for fixing the knee joint during training: how to choose and how to determine the size? * Crossfit

When considering sports equipment, there are two main groups that most often injure athletes. These are the back and legs. And if it is quite simple to save your back, you can just put on a good fixing weightlifting belt, but with the knees everything is somewhat more complicated. If athletic belts are allowed in almost any competition, since they do not affect the actual performance of the exercise, then knee pads that allow you to fix the leg can not be used everywhere. Let's consider the question in more detail.

General information

Knee pads are sports and medical equipment designed to fix the knee joint. They can be used in three main cases:

Treatment - in fact, for this they were invented. The main task of such a knee pad is to fix the joint in the correct position for further healing.
Sports - designed to prevent injuries during heavy climbs.
Preventive daily. Used by overweight people to minimize stress on joints.

Moreover, they all have a similar structure and shape.

Knee pads with hinges

Despite the great popularity of knee pads with hinges, several facts should be noted at once. Knee pads like these are essential for a strong hold. They initially have a medical direction. Free movement of the knee along one axis is ensured by a special hole.

Their main task is to fix the ligaments in order to avoid disability. They are not designed for heavy loads (lifting the barbell more than 100 kilograms), since in this case, excessive fixation will be harmful, and the joint will begin to wear out.

These are knee pads for daily wear. And, most importantly, like elastic bandages, knee pads with hinges are prohibited by most federations, as they allow you to get an advantage in the squat.

How to choose?

Choosing knee pads, you need to take into account your goals and financial capabilities. Usually the quality of the knee pad does not depend on the manufacturer. At the same time, popular manufacturers have additional advantages in the form of a larger grid of sizes. Choose according to the following specifications:

a type;
depending on the type of knee injury and doctor's recommendations;
material;
the size.

Knee pads	A photo	A type	Type of knee injury	Material	The size	Manufacturer	User rating	Price
TITAN YELLOW JACKET KNEE SLEEVES	© titansupport.com	Fixing	Period after dislocation	Elastic fabric	Matched by table	TITAN	8	About $ 100
SBD KNEE SLEEVES	© sbd-usa.com	Compression	Joint injury	Elastic fabric	Matched according to the table 1 less	SBD	7	About $ 100
Sling Shot Knee Sleeves 2.0	© markbellslingshot.com	Depreciation	Prophylactic	Elastic fabric	Matched by table	Sling Shot	9	About $ 100
Rehband 7051	© rehband.com	Fixing	Period after dislocation	Elastic fabric	Matched by table	Rehband	6	About $ 100
Reinforced crossfit knee pad Rehband 7751	© rehband.com	Compression	Joint injury	Elastic fabric	Matched by table	Rehband	7	About 150 USD
Rocktape Red 5mm	© rocktape.ru	Fixing	Period after dislocation	Elastic fabric	Matched according to the table 1 less	Rocktape	8	<50 USD
Rehband 105333 Pink Ladies	© rehband.com	Compression	Joint injury	Elastic fabric	Matched according to the table 1 less	Rehband	7	About $ 100
ELEIKO knee pads	© eleiko.com	Depreciation	Prophylactic	Elastic fabric	Matched according to the table 1 less	ELEIKO	9	<50 USD

A type

As we said earlier, knee pads are usually divided according to their directions. But in reality, the division is deeper. They are all divided into:

Compression. This is the kind of knee pads when it's too late to do any kind of prevention. They are suitable for people who already have a knee injury and need to prevent it from spreading further. Most often used in powerlifting, as lifting huge weights will sooner or later injure almost all lifters.
© gonzalocalle - stock.adobe.com
Depreciation. These are the same knee pads that were originally intended for overweight people. However, the range of their application is somewhat wider. In particular, the shock-absorbing knee pads, due to their elasticity, reduce the impact on the knee during running. They are used by professional runners during training, football players, basketball players, rugby players and crossfitters.
© sportpoint - stock.adobe.com
Fixing. This type of knee pads is presented in almost every gym. It is recommended to wear it before heavy approaches. Knee pads are needed not only for squats, but for almost all exercises that involve the legs and involve heavy weights. Even for trusters, they will be useful.
© mdbildes - stock.adobe.com

Material

You don't have to bother too much about the material. The main thing is that sports knee pads are comfortable and tight enough. That is, when choosing, pay attention not to the material itself, but to its tightness and elasticity.

So, some rare models are banned by federations due to the fact that their rigidity makes squatting easier, they are comparable to sports bandages.

The size

The size of the knee pad is determined depending on the manufacturer's mesh provided. The thing is that they are all quite elastic, which means they can easily be put on a leg that does not fit them in size. However, you need to understand how to determine the size of the correct knee pad, so that later it will not be excruciatingly painful while walking or doing exercise.

All knee pads are measured in centimeters. In order to determine your size, it is enough to measure the circumference of the knee. For trained weightlifters, this figure ranges from 40 to 50 cm. It is very rare when larger knee pads are needed.

Sports knee pads, as a rule, need to be taken one size smaller. Moreover, the determining factor when choosing a knee pad may not be its quality at all, but the size of the mesh, which allows you to determine how accurately you can choose the equipment for yourself.

As for firms and manufacturers, everything is about the same here. The division is solely by type, sometimes by durability. You can focus not on the brand, but on the forum reviews.

Contraindications

Sports knee pads are not intended to be worn at all times. They have a number of contraindications that are especially sensitive for people over 30 years old:

First of all, it is osteoarthritis. If you have increased fragility of the bone cover, then it is quite possible that the constant wearing of sports knee pads will lead to the fact that your bones themselves are deformed. This is a very small chance. And it only concerns the fixing sports knee pads.
The second is varicose veins. In the case of varicose veins, there is such a thing as leg swelling. It is caused due to the fact that more blood flows to the legs than it flows out per unit of time. So, wearing knee pads can easily lead to the formation of a venous plug and a worsening of the condition. In this case, knee pads are worn only during the adaptation period after injury. And prophylactic knee pads are worn exclusively before the approach itself. However, people suffering from varicose veins are usually rarely associated with squats over 20 pounds.

Outcome

Remember that forewarned is forearmed. Most of the knee pads are federally approved, which is not the case with elastic bandages. This gives a certain advantage to competing athletes, since they may not suffer from severe pain syndromes, and the knee pads themselves perfectly fix the trajectory, which, purely theoretically, allows a little, but to improve the effectiveness of the exercises.

CrossFit knee pads are either shock absorption or shock absorption knee pads.

Remember that knee pads are not everyday clothes. They wear them only in two cases:

for fixing joints and ligaments during the recovery from injury;
for prevention, so as not to injure the ligaments of the knee and not to twist the joints.

What can I say in the end regarding which knee pads to choose and which are better. Unfortunately, everything is individual here. Remember that a prophylactic knee pad is selected in size, but a sports one is taken one size smaller, this is the only way it can protect you from injury.