Has anyone ever used one of these?

Ive got soreness at the bottom of my knee cap around my patella tendon.
ive seen these strap things advertised on various websites and was wondering
a. how they work?
b. is it a prevention rather than cure?
c. worth the money?

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I had a sore knee a couple of years ago Pete.

I never really got to the bottom of what the problem was,but I used one of these and it worked a treat.

Runners Need | Product details

yeah seams the same sort of thing... do you still wear it? or only when ur knee is sore?

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Havn`t had a problem with it since Pete.(Hope I`m not tempting fate.)

The strap fits over the knee and there is a narrow part of it that you tighten up under the kneecap.

Was really comfortable as well.

Better picture at the bottom of this page.

Ankle, Shin and Knee Supports at Sportyshop Sports Injury Shop

okie cool. thanks...

one now ordered.. so lets see what happens

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mine has just arrived... should i wear it all the time.. or just when running?

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is it painful all the time?

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not all the time... it aches when im sat at my desk.. but i think thats mainly as im restless and constantly crossing and uncrossing my knees

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I only wore mine when I ran Pete.

But that was the only time it was a problem.

hmm ill wear it to day and running and see how it goes


thanks all

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improving your posture could help a bit with this. Try sitting up a bit taller and keep ball such as a mini football or a tennis ball between your knees, harder work than it sounds, but it helped me a lot.

Guess you're doing VMO strengthening???

I tried the pat strap and didn't like it....

VMO strengthening?

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Taken from here

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as a sweeping generalisation, runners tend to have tight ITBs, the band that runs along the outside of the thigh, it is also a really tricky thing to stretch. The result is the ITB pulls the patella to the outside of the knee, stopping it running smoothly in the groove in the knee. The VMO control (as I understand it..) the inward rotation of the knee (as opposed to ITB controling external rotation), so strengthening VMO should help pull the kneecap back into position.

simplest excerise I know is to sit on the floor with as good a posture as you can, extend one leg (this is the one being exercised) and pull the other in towards your chest. Turn the foot of the leg you are working on out, i.e. if your left foot, then turn to 10 o'clock or 2o'clock for the right foot. do leg leg raises lifting the foot a few inches (6-8"?) keeping the leg straight. you should feel it particulary on the inside bit of your quad. I'd do them til fatigued, easy to do if you're sat around watching TV.

other exercises include things like squats and lunges, but there are pitfalls with these where you can do them wrong if you're not careful....

good luck...

btw... a weak VMO may be the cause, in which case, great... however what I've learnt is that it isn't always that, e.g. if ITB is tight then it could be over compensating for something else, like weak glutes, in which case you will probably have to find the root cause. this could be simple like too many miles in your shoes....