If you are in a hurry and just want to find out what the best hinged knee brace for ACL injuries is, then I’d recommend the Vive Hinged Knee Brace as the best one.
Any type of knee injury can severely hinder you.
That rings even truer though for ACL injuries.
Once you hear or feel that dreaded “pop,” it’s hard not to fear the worst.
While it won’t be enough on its own, the best hinged knee brace can still help out a lot if you do have an ACL injury.
In this article, you can learn more about how to pick out a good hinged knee brace and I’ll also highlight certain products that you may want to consider getting to help with your injury.
Here are the top hinged knee braces we’ll be reviewing:
- Shock Doctor Hinged Knee Brace
- Vive Hinged Knee Brace
- Mueller Hinged Knee Brace
- VieVibrante Hinged Knee Brace
- McDavid Hinged Knee Brace
Buyer’s Guide
All knee braces may have similar goal of providing support and improved stability, but they can vary in other ways that affect how comfortable they are to wear.
Take note of the things mentioned below if you want to be sure that you get the best hinged knee brace for yourself.
Why Do I Need a Knee Brace for My ACL Injury?
Before getting to anything else, let’s first discuss why you need a knee brace in the first place.
The thing about ACL injuries is that they do more than cause pain.
The ACL, or anterior cruciate ligament, is responsible for helping hold the bones in your knee in place as well as offering additional stability.
So, what happens when you stretch of tear your ACL?
A damaged ACL can make it nearly impossible for you to move your knee in any direction.
On top of that, the simple act of walking can prove incredibly challenging because it’s tough to put pressure on that injured knee.
Like I said earlier, a hinged brace cannot resolve all of your knee-related issues by itself, but what it can do is provide some of that badly needed support.
The hinged knee brace should be able to help you move around more.
At the very least, you may be able to feel more comfortable walking carefully with a knee brace offering support.
Is It Necessary to Get a Hinged Knee Brace?
There are different types of knee braces currently available.
Current variants include knee sleeves, knee straps, wraparound braces, and patella braces that can either feature an open or closed design.
Obviously, hinged knee braces should be mentioned as well.
Considering the many types of knee braces that you can purchase, many may assume that purchasing a cheaper strap or sleeve would be better than getting a more expensive hinged knee brace.
Sure, you can save a few bucks that way, but you may also miss out on receiving the adequate level of support that is needed by your recovering knee.
The best thing about hinged braces is that they excel at keeping your knee properly aligned.
The hinges are there to essentially frame your knee and lock it into place, although how well the knee is secured can depend on the quality of the brace you’re using.
If you want the hinged braces that offer the most support, you should look at the rigid variants.
The sturdier body of a hinged brace makes it harder for you to suddenly move your knee out of its proper alignment.
Materials Used
As with many pieces of protective equipment that are designed to help injuries heal, hinged knee braces are often made out of the material known as neoprene.
Neoprene is good for injuries because it does a good job of keeping an injured part of the body warm.
It also features enough flexibility to make it feel as though the part of your body it’s covering is not just encased in stone.
The biggest issue with neoprene is that it tends to get too warm when worn for an extended period of time.
Sweat can pool inside the area covered by a neoprene brace.
What you want to see ideally is neoprene blended together with other materials so that you are still getting the beneficial qualities of neoprene without taking on too much warmth.
Anti-Slide Features
When you put a hinged knee brace on, you want to be able to keep your mind off of it.
The brace should be able to provide support without calling much attention to itself.
That can’t happen if the brace is constantly slipping down your knee however.
One solution to this is to simply purchase the brace that fits you best, but even then, the grip of the brace may worsen as the day goes by.
The sweat building up inside the brace may make it harder for it to hold on to your skin.
To prevent that from being an issue for you, look for the hinged knee brace with anti-sliding features.
Even during the hottest days of the summer, you should be able to keep the brace where it needs to be with the help of those anti-sliding components.
Latex Content
For some people, the presence of latex can immediately disqualify a particular item from being considered the best hinged knee brace.
Latex allergies can be triggered by braces like that, so avoid them if you have the same condition.
Thankfully, you can easily find hinged knee braces that are latex-free these days.
Best Hinged Knee Braces Reviewed
Shock Doctor Hinged Knee Brace
Odor can be a real problem when it comes to hinged knee braces.
Because of the way they cling tightly to your skin and the insulation they provide, they can cause the part of your body being covered to produce a ton of sweat.
As you know, sweat that is just left to dry up or pool can produce an unpleasant odor.
The anti-microbial features baked into the design of Shock Doctor’s Hinged Knee Brace fight against the emergence of that foul odor.
The brace is also designed to let air flow in easily, thus reducing the amount of warmth that may build up inside.
Along with those features, this hinged brace makes use of N-Tex to improve moisture wicking and prevent sweat from seeping into it.
At the end of the day, you can count on being able to take this brace off without being greeted by a strong and unwelcome odor.
Unfortunately, taking this brace off can be an ordeal itself.
You’ll often struggle to find parts to hang on to so that you can remove it properly.
Still, it’s a solid hinged knee brace that provides good support along with effective odor control.
Pros
- Significantly reduces the amount of odor
- N-Tex used in the brace helps reduce sweat buildup
- Slightly curved to fit your knee better
Cons
- Difficult to take off
Vive Hinged Knee Brace
The hinges in the knee brace play important roles.
They help create that stable frame that allows you to put at least a little bit of pressure on your recovering knee.
There are times when the hinges can just get in the way and make you uncomfortable though such as when you’re trying to relax after a long day at work.
What I like the most about the Vive Hinged Knee Brace is that it provides wearers with the option of removing the hinges.
When you know you are just going to lie down for the rest of the night, slip the hinges out and let your knee relax more.
The following morning, you can easily slide the hinges back into place when you need to move around again.
The hinges being removable is really helpful because the brace can feel bulky at times.
The hinges are also made out of aluminum.
They don’t add as much weight to the brace, creating a more lightweight item for you to wear.
Easily accessible adjustment straps enable you to change the position of the brace on your knee to increase your level of comfort.
Pros
- Features removable hinges
- Hinges are made out of aluminum
- Brace is lightweight but sturdy
Cons
- Brace can be bulky with hinges inserted
Mueller Hinged Knee Brace
Let’s continue our search for the best hinged knee brace by focusing next on a Mueller creation.
Generally speaking, hinged knee braces are not that expensive. Still, if you’ve already spent a lot on therapy, medication, and perhaps even surgery, saving every dollar helps.
The Mueller Hinged Knee Brace is certainly significantly less expensive than many of the other alternatives, but it can it rival the quality offered by its pricier counterparts?
The reality is that in terms of sturdiness, you will definitely find other braces superior to this one.
It is still capable of providing support, but not as much as you may want if you are going walk often.
It’s also a bit larger so not everyone may be able to use it comfortably.
If you can accept those drawbacks, you can get a pretty good deal on this hinged knee brace.
The anti-microbial treatment used on it also allows it to combat odors.
The self-adjusting straps don’t always work the way you want them to, but more often than not, they do make the brace more comfortable to wear.
Pros
- Significantly more affordable compared to many other hinged knee braces
- Anti-microbial brace
- Comes with self-adjusting straps
Cons
- Does not offer as much support as other hinged braces
- Will not fit smaller individuals
VieVibrante Hinged Knee Brace
Similar to the Vive product highlighted earlier, the VieVibrante Hinged Knee Brace comes with removable hinges that enable you to adjust the amount of support you’re getting.
It’s good that the manufacturers made the hinges removable because the brace can feel cumbersome with them included.
With metal springs and a silicon pad already included, your knee can be supported well even without the hinges, although the sides may feel a bit loose without them.
I also love the anti-sliding strips present on this brace.
If you have opted not to use the hinges, the straps can improve the stability of the brace.
Plus, it’s nice not having to worry about your brace coming off just because you’ve been moving too much.
The creators of this knee brace clearly wanted to make something highly adjustable for their customers, but the problem is that the straps you use for adjustments are poorly-located.
They are situated at the back of the brace, meaning you may have to reach under your knee to make the adjustments.
Better placement of those straps would have made this knee brace significantly better.
Pros
- Makes use of removable hinges
- Anti-sliding strips included
Cons
- Straps at the back are hard to reach
McDavid Hinged Knee Brace
Recovering from an ACL injury can take a lot of time.
Even if you’re a nonathlete, it can take anywhere between six to nine months before you can start moving in the manner you did prior to tearing your ACL.
With that in mind, you obviously need a durable hinged knee brace like the McDavid Hinged Knee Brace.
The outermost layer of the brace is made from nylon.
That design decision significantly increases the amount of wear and tear the brace can handle before it starts to show damage.
You can keep this brace on without worrying that it will get worn down too soon.
The straps installed on this hinged knee brace also deserve some attention.
They can be finely adjusted so that the brace can envelop your knee without creating a shell that’s too tight.
What I don’t like as much about this hinged knee brace is that it’s simply too warm.
Loosening its grip on your knee doesn’t really do much to alleviate the heat either. This is not the kind of brace you will want to wear during the summertime.
Pros
- Nylon makes the brace more durable
- Straps can be adjusted to your specific preferences
- Specially designed hinges provide plenty of support
Cons
- Brace can feel very warm on your skin
Final Thoughts
After getting the chance to try out the items above and spending plenty of time with them, I’m going with the Hinged Knee Brace from Vive as our favorite.
The reason why we see Vive’s creation as the best hinged knee brace is because it does a great job of making you feel comfortable and supported. The sturdy hinges stabilize your knee effectively and the lightweight body makes the brace easy to wear for extended periods of time.
You can even take out the hinges if you want to lighten the load on your injured knee even further.
The bulk can be problematic at times, but thankfully, the brace gives you an easy way to deal with that potential issue.
