Shock Doctor Knee Brace, Compression Knee Brace for Men & Women, Hinged Knee Brace with Side Stabilizers, Maximum Support, Adjustable Dual Hinges, Knee Braces and Knee Support

I totally blew my knee out during Krav Maga class by landing off-balance on my left leg. I never had a knee injury before so it was a new experience. I couldn't even put any weight on it without it feeling like my leg was going to separate at the knee. We went to the local Walgreens and got a basic pair of crutches and the best knee brace they had on the shelf, which is the Mueller Hinged Wraparound Knee Brace, Black, Lg. I wore that one for about 5 days before it started to feel like it wasn't giving me much support, no matter how much I tightened it. I was getting into my car and moved my leg just right (or just wrong) and tweaked my knee again, even with the brace on.Knowing that my knee is worth the expense to keep from re-injuring it, I ordered this Shock Doctor knee brace and was thankful that Amazon has Sale Day delivery in my area.++++ HOW TO ORDER THE RIGHT SIZE ++++Be sure to order the right size! ** Ignore the note about it running small! You want to err on the side of it being small because it does stretch and break in! **In case you need it, here are the sizes:S = 12.25" - 13.25"M = 13" - 14"L = 13.75" - 14.75"XL = 14.5" - 15.5"XXL = 15.25" - 16.25"My upper calf is 15" in diameter 2" below the kneecap as instructed to measure, so I ordered a Large. Yes, it was a tad small, but it worked out for me.++++ HOW TO PUT IT ON ++++To install it, slide it over your leg like you would anything else. It will feel VERY tight in the calf area. Grab the sides of the top opening where the little grippers are and pull it on until it is in place, then wrap the straps around accordingly. YOU WANT IT TO BE TIGHT IN THE CALF THE FIRST TIME YOU WEAR IT!It will seem like it is way too small the first day. Also, the straps that wrap around the back of your knee feel like they are digging in the back of your leg. Adjust them once in a while or put a think piece of cloth on the back of your knee for a while. After a while, they break in as well.Day 1 - will feel very tight.Day 2 - will still feel very snug, but more comfortable.Day 3 - you can wear this all day and not even think about it.It definitely needs time to break in and stretch to fit your leg, but once it does, it is awesome.++++ THE SUPPORT IS GREAT! ++++So let's talk about the most important part...THE SUPPORT...The first time I put it on and tightened the straps down, I felt like I could do jumping jacks on a sprained knee. Of course, I knew better...but it feels VERY solid and VERY secure. It drastically helped me get back to walking around and building strength in my knee again. I suppose the only downside, other than the break-in period, is the confidence it gives you that if you are not careful, you can start acting "normal", overdo it and hurt your leg again. Remember, it is just a support and not something built by Tony Stark. Also, you cannot bend your leg fully as the straps in the back get in the way, but if you are wearing this, you probably shouldn't be bending your leg that far anyway.Of course, everyone's injuries and body structure is different so your results may vary, but this was without a doubt the best I could buy for my injury and to avoid injuring it again.

This brace is excellent. Very well constructed. It is tight but has small finger grips at the top to help pull it up. The key to keeping it up is to get the bottom strap above the calf muscle and make it tight. I had to modify mine because the velcro didn't match up as it stretched. There are 2 ways to solve that. See attached pictures. One way is to shorten the strap (I did it without actually cutting it. The other is to extend the necessary portion of the velcro. I use dental floss which is tough stuff. I really love the quality of this brace and the effectiveness in stabilizing the knee.

I sprained my left MCL after falling down in a funny way, requiring crutches, a few trips to the doctors office, and weeks of heat and cold packs to control the swelling.Initially I used a fairly good neoprene type velcro wrap knee support (for twice the price of the Shock Doctor), which worked very well to keep my knee compressed, but the neoprene got very hot very fast, and my knee wound up being wet from sweat all day. The wrap was also too tight to allow any normal walking, and wearing it to the office became more of a hassle than it was worth.I ordered the Shock Doctor Ultra Knee Support with Bilateral Hinges to see if it would be any better for wearing all day.It was better in almost every possible way.Comfort:Not only is this knee support much more comfortable than the neoprene wrap type support, but it feels so good when you first start wearing it the other knee gets jealous. I will probably continue to wear this every so often now that my MCL is mostly healed, because it just feels great to have such great knee support.Heat Retention:There is really almost no sweating issue at all with the Shock Doctor, due to the meshed cushion design. Airflow is very good. Except for the hottest of days, my knee stayed relatively dry while wearing this support.Compression:While not as firm as the neoprene type, the padding is thick and soft, giving quite a lot of support. My knee always feels great with this on. The neoprene is just too tight to wear every day if you plan on walking around.Odor:While the neoprene supports obviously come with the somewhat gross neoprene/wetsuit smell, they also get stinky from the constant sweat they are in contact with, which just makes the neoprene stink even grosser. The Shock Doctor support has very little detectable odor at all, and it mostly stays that way even after extended use.Effectiveness:The first two weeks after my MCL sprain required a very tight support, which the neoprene does better. If you just hurt your knee and need a very tight fit, maybe go with the neoprene first, but keep in mind it is more difficult to walk in. Of course, if you just hurt your knee, you probably aren't in the mood for a lot of walking so it may not be a problem. Once you start going back into the real world and need to be mobile, the Shock Doctor is the way to go for sure. I do not think I would have recovered from my injury had I not worn this product for a few months after getting hurt. Sometimes my knee starts to hurt again after a few days or weeks of not wearing the Shock Doctor, but that goes away the minute I put it back on.Size:While very bulky looking, I can still wear this under a pair of Levi 501 jeans without any noticeable bulges. Not as low profile as the neoprene supports, but not too big to fit under a pant leg. I actually prefer the extra bulk on this item, as my knee is safer from external impact, something you really don't want while your knee is healing.Sizing:As you read the reviews for the Shock Doctor knee supports, you will see a lot of people confused about what size they should get. I ordered the X-Large, even though I would not consider my legs larger in diameter than 'average'. I am 5'10' with a heavy build, but again my knee does not seem to me to be "large" and certainly not "extra large", but the X-Large fits perfect. If in doubt, and you really need knee support right away, I would recommend ordering two sizes, and returning one you don't want to keep back to Amazon. When your knee is injured you want to support it as soon as possible, so messing around with measuring your leg and calf and using a sizing calculator may not be at the top of your worry list.Construction:Construction and design of the Shock Doctor is amazing when compared to its competition. It looks and feels like something a professional athlete or soldier would wear when they needed knee support to keep moving. However, there is one design flaw, and to me it's sort of a big one, which is why I could not give this product the five stars I really wanted to give it.The buckles that the velcro straps go through, which take a lot of pressure while you are tightening the straps, are made of plastic.This was not a problem at the beginning, but after a few weeks of every day use, the top buckle cracked and broke while I was adjusting a strap, rendering the entire knee support useless.Amazon cross shipped me a replacement right away (thanks again, Amazon) and I was back in business in two days, but now I am very careful about not pulling the straps too hard. Of course, a tight fit is what you want from this product, so this is a pretty big design flaw. However, it is not bad enough to avoid this product, as it excels in so many other areas.If Shock Doctor started using metal buckles instead of plastic, this item would easily be five stars.All things considered, this is one of the best products I have ordered on Amazon.

This is a high quality brace. I suffered a full MCL tear and partial PCL tear in a ski lift accident. I got a brace from the urgent care the day it happened. It was all they had and better than nothing, but did not provide enough support. When I got home, I pulled out another one from a previous knee injury. It was alot better than the urgent care brace, but this Shock Doctor brace is much more comfortable and gives better support than either of the others. I also ordered another so-called sports brace on Amazon, but wound up returning it because it would not stay up on my leg. This one stays in place quite well; not perfect, but very acceptable. I can highly recommend it for knee ligament injuries.