Anatomy of knee osteoarthritis
Knee osteoarthritis is the degeneration of the cartilage disks responsible for cushioning your knee and allowing smooth movement. As we age, the cartilage disks can start to wear thin and rough, causing friction. As a result, you’re likely to experience:
- Pain, especially after a long period of movement
- Swelling
- Stiffness
- Clicking sounds and locking sensations when you move
The intensity of these symptoms can vary drastically from case to case, depending on how far the condition has progressed. Pain may also be felt on one side more than the other, as osteoarthritis is often worse on one side.
How the GenuTrain OA Helps
GenuTrain OA
The GenuTrain OA works best for moderate (grade 2-3) cases of arthritis. In these cases, the space between your tibia and fibula has narrowed visibly, sometimes resulting in knee pain even when resting.
This osteoarthritis knee brace helps through the following:
Compression knit fabric
Compression knit boosts blood flow through the affected area, reducing muscle stiffness and swelling. Compression fabric also communicates directly with your muscle fibres, helping them receive and transmit messages to and from the brain, thus improving your proprioception (or your ‘awareness’ of how you move and position the joint). Osteoarthritis causes pain that can interrupt other nerve signals, negatively affecting your gait, balance, and awareness of the joint.
Learn more: Find out how quality material impacts the effectiveness of bracing and compression
Offloading system
As osteoarthritis progresses, joint space narrows, making it harder to put pressure on the joint without pain. The GenuTrain OA addresses this via its 3-point offloading system of straps and stays, which you can adjust with millimetre precision to take the pressure off a painful area.
Comfortable wear
The OA is made of 3D air-knit fabric - a stretchy, soft, and breathable material. And as we mentioned, its hinges, straps, and splints system is highly adjustable. You can also easily loosen it when sitting and tighten it back up when standing.
For the best results, you should always aim for an osteoarthritis knee brace that you won’t be itching to take off after just a couple of hours of wear.
How to choose the right GenuTrain OA Brace
Sizing
In order to work properly, your brace has to fit you perfectly. To determine the best GenuTrain OA fit for you, you’ll need to take two measurements:
- Measure the circumference of your leg 17 cm above the centre of your knee while your knee is bent at 30 degrees.
- Measure the circumference of your leg 15 cm below the centre of your knee while your knee is bent at 30 degrees.
Learn more: How does sizing impact the effectiveness of bracing and compression?
Medials and laterals
There are two versions of the GenuTrain OA Knee Brace, which you’ll see in the drop-down menu on the product page.
The Left Medial/Right Lateral brace is for those with osteoarthritis affecting the inner side of their left knee or the outer side of their right knee.
The Right Medial/Left Lateral version, meanwhile, is for osteoarthritis in the outer side of the left knee or inner side of the right knee.
Put simply, the zone where all 3 splints meet under the BOA closure button should be on the opposite side of your knee arthritis.
To sum up
The GenuTrain OA is a great brace for moderate knee osteoarthritis. It takes the pressure off damaged cartilage, boosts blood flow to minimise swelling and stiffness, and is comfortable for all-day wear.
Explore more osteoarthritis knee braces: Knee Braces For Arthritis
