A Quick Guide to Braces

Braces come in all shapes and sizes including trochanteric belts, corsets, molded jackets, sacroiliac belts, and more. They are used to help alleviate pain and hold a certain part of your body relatively still in order to help it heal better. Braces can be a great source of pain relief for individuals who suffer from chronic pain. If you are interested in a brace, you should speak with a local pain physician about which type of brace would be best for you.

Neck Braces

Neck braces come in several forms including soft collar braces, Philadelphia collar braces, and sterno-occipital mandibular immobilization devices (SOMI). There are many more types of neck braces but these are some of the most common. Each brace has a specific use, some of these braces are actually for back pain, which is why it’s important to discuss your choice with a doctor first.

Knee Braces

Knee braces tend to be categorized by several qualities such as level of support, the condition it’s designed to treat, style of the brace, and manufacturer. Knee braces are most commonly used to alleviate knee pain resulting from arthritis and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries. Knee braces are also commonly worn after knee reconstruction surgery in order to help speed up the healing process and prevent further injuries.

Back Braces

There are three main purposes of back braces. First, it helps to reduce the movement of your spine while it heals. Second, it stabilizes any injured areas and helps prevent further injuries. Lastly, back braces help reduce back pain by applying pressure and restricting movement. There are different types of back braces designed to be worn on different portions of your spine including cervical braces, lumbar braces, and thoracic braces.

Arm & Elbow Braces

Arm and elbow braces are most commonly used in sports where elbow injuries occur frequently. These sports include tennis and golf. However, they are also good for relieving elbow pain that results from an elbow injury (including but not limited to tennis elbow and golfer’s elbow). Elbow braces can be designed to relieve a variety of types of elbow pain. You may want to discuss with your doctor whether a compression strap, post-op bracing, sling, or forearm support is right for you.

Shoulder Braces

Shoulder braces can be used to treat many kinds of shoulder pain and even some types of back pain. They work by providing support, compression, and protection to your shoulder. For sport players, shoulder braces can help reduce the chances of dislocation of a shoulder and help relieve shoulder pain after a dislocation occurs.

Need a brace to relieve your chronic pain? Contact Garden State Pain Control today to make an appointment with an experienced New Jersey pain physician and discuss your options.