The Best Hinged Knee Brace for Knee Injuries

Knee Pain affects millions of Americans every single day and that number is growing each year. As we live longer and try to maintain our activity levels into our golden years, the incidence of knee pain will continue to rise. There are many different causes of knee pain, each with a different causative mechanism and different levels of pain and one this is for certain, humans don’t function well without working knees. When our knees begin to hurt, it impacts every aspect of our daily lives. We need our knees to walk, stand, squat, sit, and even roll over in bed. Knee pain may prevent us from sleeping well, enjoying a dinner with friends, or even being able to walk around the grocery store to get food for the week. One of the best ways to help with knee pain is to provide stability by way of a brace. A hinged knee brace helps with pain because it allows for movement forwards and backwards but limits and stabilizes lateral and rotational movement.

Name	Price	Best Feature	Our rating	Best Price
Donjoy Performance Bionic Backstop Knee Brace	$$$	Made from great material that is really comfortable to wear	9.7/10	See Current Price
Shock Doctor Hinged Knee Brace	$$	Soft material and excellent value for the money	9.5/10	See Current Price
Z1 K2 Anti-Rotation Knee Brace	$$$	Great for athletes who have ligament injuries	9.4/10	See Current Price
McDavid Hinged Knee Brace	$$	Great mid level support brace for the weekend warrior	9.4/10	See Current Price
Donjoy Deluxe Knee Brace	$$	Really easy to use and take on and off	9.3/10	See Current Price

Knee Anatomy

The knee by anatomical design is actually structurally inherently unstable. It is two bones stacked on top of one another as compared to say a hip that provides stability by the depth of the socket. The Femur bone sit atop of the Tibia and on top of the tibia lies two menisci of different shapes that allow small amount of depth and congruity between the bones. Surrounding the inner structures are ligaments, tendons, and muscles which provide the majority of joint stability. When the meniscus and ligaments become damaged it can change the bodies ability to provide the necessary support needed and thus may benefit from using a hinged knee brace.

Who Should Try a Hinged Knee Brace

A hinged brace may not be the answer for everyone, but is a great option for many in pain. The goal of a hinged brace is to decrease pain, improve functional ability such as hiking, walking, or working easier. These are the people who should consider trying a hinged knee brace:

If you are trying to avoid surgery a hinged brace may be able to help you functionally
If you are returning to activities after surgery a hinged brace may help You
If you love to hike, walk, elliptical etc and haven’t been able to this may help
A hinged brace may allow you strengthen your knee with less pain to prepare for better outcomes and faster recovery from a total knee replacement

Common Knee Injuries that May Benefit from Wearing a Brace

Ligamentous Injuries

A hinged brace can help with the rotational stability with a ligament has been injured. The most common ligament injuries include the ACL, MCL, and LCL. The PCL can also be injured but is much less common. The brace can be worn after in the immediate phase after the injury and is also helpful when returning to sports such as skiing or basketball.

Cartilage Injuries

A hinged brace may help with Meniscus injuries, especially in the early phase. When the knee is swollen and painful, the knee can feel like it will give away which is where the brace may be most beneficial.

Knee Arthritis

The brace may help with knee arthritis by offloading the pressure. Even small amounts of support may help decrease pain. Also, when one part of the knee is more degenerated than the other side, a brace may be warranted by helping keep the knee is proper alignment.

Knee Fractures

Whether you have a Tibial Plateau Fracture or a fracture on your knee cap a hinged brace may be the first part of walking and standing again. The brace helps reduce force on the healing bone.

Knee/Patella Tendinitis

Knee Tendinitis is an overuse injury that becomes an intolerance to load issue. To allow for adequate healing and for the tendon to remodel a brace may help.

What We Looked for in a Hinged Knee Brace

Quality Material – A hinged brace gets a lot of work and needs to hold up to the demands that you place it. Not only does the hinge itself need to be solid but the material surrounding it should be durable and tear resistant.

Fit – The brace should be easy to determine the size and it should be easy to put on. If it’s difficulty to put on then you won’t use it and the benefits would be lost

Warranty/Return Policy – As always on Physical Therapy Product Reviews we love products that offer a great warranty or a return policy. This tells us not only is the company a great company but that they have confidence in their product and that the product is of the highest quality.

Helpful Tips to Put on a Hinged Knee brace

How to Correctly Measure Your Leg Size for a Knee Brace

The Best Hinged Knee Braces on Amazon

Donjoy Perfomance Bionic Backstop

Summary: The Donjoy Performance Bionic Fullstop Knee Brace is one of the best hinged braces on the market. The hinge technology with a four-point leverage system trains the body to avoid “at-risk” position through a dampening cycle of the hinge. Comes with a sophisticated compression and thermal heat regulation that keeps you from overheating. Designed to treat and protect ACL and meniscus injuries, joint instabilities, moderate ligament and tendon sprains, hyperextension, and patella support. This brace is durable and light enough to be the single go to brace for anyone returning to sports after an injury.