Should You Use an
Over-the-Counter Brace?
Whether you’re strolling the aisles of your local drugstore
or clicking around online, it’s easy to find braces meant to support your neck,
back, ankle, wrist, and other joints.
Should you try them? it
depends. In most cases, it’s best to see
your doctor first. If you use them
wrong, or they don’t fit the way they should, braces may do more harm than
good.
Ankle Sprains
You can use braces as part of the standard at-home treatment
for common sprains –rest, ice, compression, and elevation (RICE). If you wear a compression or padded foam
brace while resting and elevating your ankle, it could help protect the joint
and ease your pain, swelling, and bruising.
See your doctor if the injury doesn’t get better after a couple of days,
or if you can’t bear weight on your foot.
Foot Pain
Plantar fasciitis is a common condition that hurts the sole
of the foot. It often strikes runners,
people who spend a lot of time on their feet (nurses, construction workers, teachers),
and those who are overweight or obese. A
night splint, or brace, can bring you relief.
It keeps your foot and ankle in a neutral position while you sleep. It stops your plantar fascia, the band of
tissue that connects your heel bone to your toes, from tightening up during the
night. That makes it hurt less to walk.
Carpal Tunnel
Syndrome
Do you have soreness, weakness, or numbness in your fingers,
palm, or forearm? Do you feel the need
to “shake out” you hands and wrists after long bouts of typing? These are symptoms of carpal tunnel
syndrome. It happens when the nerve that
runs down from your forearm to your hand gets squeezed. If you have it, your doctor may suggest you
rest the hand or wrist that’s bothering you.
She might also recommend you wear a brace or splint at night to keep
your wrist in the right position. That
can help relieve your symptoms.
Back Pain
Nearly everyone has it at some point. If yours tends to bother you during certain
activities, like driving, then it’s okay to use a brace to help stabilize and
warm the area. If you get a backache
after lifting something heavy, for instance, you might consider using one for a
day or two. It’s not a good idea to rely
on back braces for a long time, though.
They can help you recover from an injury, but aren’t meant to manage an
ongoing problem.
Back Support
The best way to avoid injuring your back while picking up
something heavy is to use proper posture and lifting technique. Always squat down to pick up an object,
bending at the knees. Straighten your
legs to lift, rather than leaning over from the waist. Using a back brace might help remind you to
lift the right way.
Knew Injuries
Knee braces have become popular among some athletes, who
count on them to help protect their joints and lower the chances of injuring
their ligaments, the bands that connect the bones. But there’s no proof that they keep injuries
at bay. They may make it harder for you
to sense the position of your knee. That
could give you a false sense of security, and make it easier to overdo it and
hurt yourself. If you’ve already injured
your knee, have a doctor check it out.
he may recommend a hinged or compression brae, depending on the type of
injury. A brace won’t help with
inflammation or swelling in the joint.
Osteoarthritis (OA)
Pain
OA happens when the cartilage inside your joint breaks
down. It’s a common problem that can
lead to pain, stiffness, and swelling.
If you have it in your knee, a soft, padded sleeve-type brace may help. Your doctor may suggest an unloader
brace. It can stabilize your knee and
help keep the joint in place. That may
make it feel better and make it easier for you to stay active. These braces are expensive, though, and
oftentimes a doctor needs to prescribe them.
it’s best to use them sparingly.
It’s more important to do any physical therapy your doctor recommends.
Rheumatoid Arthritis
(RA) Pain
RA is an autoimmune disease.
That means your immune system mistakenly attacks your body’s tissues,
including your knuckles and other small joints in your hands and fingers. A 2008 study found that people with RA who
wore a working splint for 4 weeks felt much better. These types of splints support your wrist and
hand joints while you’re doing your usual activities. They’re different from resting splints, which
keep you from moving body parts that hurt.
Ask your doctor if a brace could help you when your symptoms flare
up. You’d need to stick to your usual
treatment plan, too.
Bunions
These look like hard lumps that jut out at the base of your
big toe. They happen over time as the
joint in the toe moves out of alignment, and they can hurt a lot. Bunion slings or splints aim to realign the
big toe, moving it out and away from the rest of your toes. They may give you short-term relief when
you’re sleeping, for example. But the
pain often returns when you take off the splint – and they’re not practical for
24/7 use. You can’t wear most of them
comfortably inside your shoes.
Elbow Pain
Fir common overuse injuries like tennis elbow or golfer’s
elbow, you usually need to take a rest from the activity that caused the
problem. If you have to keep doing it, a
brace that you wear just below your elbow on the forearm can relieve pressure.
Wrist Pain
If you fall and hurt your wrist, it’s tempting to treat it
with a brace, since they’re too easy to find at the store. But most wrist braces are meant for only a
handful of specific conditions, like carpal tunnel syndrome. And the bones in this body part can be hard
to repair, so you’ll likely need more than a splint to heal. If you have an ongoing issue that won’t go
away, see your doctor to find out whether you have a fracture or another
injury.
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