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A tale as old as time.
Hello everybody! I am really excited about this article as I hope to answer a common problem that has plagued knee brace wearers for as long as knee braces have existed- distal migration of the knee brace! (Or in more common terms, your knee brace slipping down your leg)
If you have worn any sort of knee brace, whether it be a sleeve-type brace, a hinged brace, a strap brace, etc, you probably know the pain and frustration of your knee brace not staying up.
To be completely serious, I understand how frustrating it is when your knee brace won’t stay up. It makes you want to pull your hair out. A knee brace can add so much quality of life to people- some of whom aren’t even mobile without them. For me personally, I wasn’t able to play sports because my knee brace wouldn’t stay up.
I know this is minor compared to those who have legitimate issues with mobility, but we can all agree on one thing- knee brace slippage is frustrating and maddening, and makes it so your knee brace doesn’t work at all.
That’s the thing with knee braces- they need to stay on the knee where they are placed or they won’t work- a knee brace that falls to your ankle or even drops 6 inches loses all of its effectiveness.
Thankfully, there is a way to fix it. I discovered this method years ago and I’ve never looked back- it’s called Bracelayer, and it will keep your knee brace from sliding!
Bracelayer is a brand of compression pants that have neoprene knee sleeves built directly into them. While they provide excellent knee stabilization and support by themselves (see my complete review here), that is not the point of this article, as they also have another use- keeping your knee brace up. If this sounds pretty cool to you, check them out here on the Bracelayer website!
Why Bracelayer?
The important thing to realize is that because the knee sleeves with Bracelayer are built directly into the compression pants, it is physically impossible for them to slide down (unless your pants slide down too, lol)
Some companies have tried products where you put just knee sleeves on and then your knee brace on over top- do not use these. They do not work and that is why I have never reviewed them on my website. Remember- I only review things that have worked for me.
So, Bracelayer is unique by having the knee sleeves built directly into the pants, but the good stuff doesn’t stop there. Over top of the neoprene knee sleeve, there is a textured outer layer. This textured outer layer works MUCH better than your skin at keeping your knee brace up as it doesn’t get sweaty and is also much less smooth than your own skin.
One thing that causes knee brace slippage is the sweat from your leg making the knee brace slip- this problem is eliminated with Bracelayer, as there is a layer between your skin and knee brace.
Another thing that causes knee brace slippage is people's leg shape. If you’re like me, you have a leg shaped like an upside-down traffic cone- you have large quads and smallish calves. This is a nightmare for keeping knee braces up- your quads being large actually forces the knee brace down, and unless you have monster calves to create a shelf at the bottom of your brace, you will likely end up with some slippage.
I know I’m sounding like a broken record at this point, but Bracelayer does a lot to help this issue. By creating texture and adding that extra layer of grip, your knee brace will stay up- regardless of the shape of your legs. If you’re already sold, you can buy them here on the Bracelayer website.
Questions/Concerns
I know what I am saying right now sounds too good to be true, and I’ve gotten a lot of questions/concerns about different issues that may come up from using Bracelayer to keep your knee brace up.
The first is that Bracelayer will be too hot to wear for a long period of time for those who need to wear their knee braces all day, live in a hot climate, or don’t like to wear compression pants for sports.
My response to this is simple- if your knee pain is so debilitating that you NEED to keep your knee brace up and Bracelayer is the only thing that will work- isn’t that worth a little extra heat? Isn’t being able to walk and be active without pain worth the minor discomfort that may come with wearing compression pants for a long period? I don’t know, maybe that’s just me.
It should also be said that Bracelayer pants ARE comfortable- just as much as any other compression pants on the market. If you are super concerned about the heat- I would recommend buying the KXV version of the pants (pictured above), as these are a ¾ length pant, with the bottom being mesh that is a bit cooler than the KX2 or KX1.
Another question I get the most is whether they will be compatible with (fill in the blank) knee brace- I am happy to say that Bracelayer has worked great with every knee brace I have paired it with. I would say it works best with the large, hinged braces like DonJoy, but I have also used them with the Bauerfeind Genutrain and they have worked excellent- so no worries here.
A final question I get often is regarding other ways to keep your knee brace up and if they work better than Bracelayer, and the short answer is no.
This is the best method I have found to date of keeping your brace up- no sort of tape, glue, strap, or any other sort of contraption I have tried works as well as Bracelayer. Don’t believe me? Give them a try or check them out here, directly on the Bracelayer website.
And if you stuck around until the end- use my coupon code RRB15 for 15% off your order!
Thank you for reading, and best of luck!
Until next time
Rapid Rabbit Braces and Supports
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