Customer Reviews

McDavid Multi-Action Knee Support (Small/Medium)

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Picked this up locally.

I suffer chrondromalacia and had previously been taping my knee on the advice of a physical therapist (physio).
This knee strap has been effective at reducing my knee pain and works better than tape when sitting for long periods. E.g. helps with driving (especially with clutch use) and long flights (especially getting up and walking off the plane).
Tape seems to be a little more effective for me when walking around, but is less convenient.
I am of slim build, and the small/medium was the right size for me.

Couple of issues - first is that after extended use this irritated the skin on the back of my knee. A few hrs a day is fine, but I wore it over a 24hr period on a recent trip to India and that caused the irritation. Second is that over time the elastic loosens up. At first the strap was a little too tight. Following a period of optimum size for me, it is now a little too loose. I can tighten it up more using the velcro, but there is then not enough stretch left for complete leg motion. I'm about to order a different knee strap as this one is no longer as effective due to the loss of elasticity.

Overall, I would say this has been surprisingly effective over the first few weeks of use, but the loss of elasticity is a little disappointing.

Other ways I have eased my condition are leg strengthening in the gym (I just wasn't moving forward using the basic physical therapy exercises), and the use of well cushioned shoes (e.g. Nike Free Everyday 2)

I am 5'4" and weigh 125 lbs so I assumed I would purchase the small/medium size but somehow it was too small to fit around my thigh???? The velcro areas would not fully meet and so the rough velcro was rubbing directly on my skin! Needless to say this was completely unwearable and I am unsure if I would really require a large/extra large size in anything, so it is a little confusing whether I should get the larger one or not. I tried to walk around in it so I could at least see how the support was to see if I should get the larger size. The brace has buttresses that keep the knee cap in place that seemed pretty cool and walking around for just a short period of time while trying to ignore the scrape of the velcro, it did seem quite supportive. I have been looking for the larger size in stores to try it on first before paying for shipping in case it doesn't fit. In the meantime I purchased the Cho Pat dual action knee brace instead which looks pretty similar and got really good reviews, and they have a sizing chart to let you know what size to get. Although I don't know if it has the buttresses which seem like they would be key in stabilizing the knee cap. I have Chondromalacia Patella. I will update the review if I get the larger size. If you are going to buy this, research the sizing or buy up a size. I didn't see any sizing information anywhere online, even on the manufacturer's website.