NEENCA Professional Knee Braces AC-46

Love this knee brace! I needed a lightweight but secure brace to wear post surgery. It is easy to put on and has breathable fabric with a supportive cross over strapping. Helps with stability and comfortable to wear. I have tried other knee braces that were bulky and hot to wear. I'm glad I found one that works so well.

First of all, my known injuries are a severe sprain and a dislocating patella. I’ve not had an MRI yet, so there may be some unknowns.I’ve been having so much trouble finding the right brace. This is comfortable! Nothing is digging in or rubbing against my skin. I felt like previous braces didn’t provide enough compression or support even if they kept my patella in place. Many, even the one provided by the ortho and recommended by my PT failed to keep the patella in place. This feels so supportive and provides a perfect amount of compression. It lets me bend my knee just as far as I can bend it unbraced without dislocating the patella. So it gives me exactly the range of motion I want and prevents me from going any further. I can definitely tell the compression, limiting motion, and not having anything that digs in will mean less pain, and I think adding the second brace on top will fully support keeping my patella in place (it is a more traditional patella brace with a hole in the front, but the straps dig in and it has those awful rubber things in it that don’t feel so great on the skin when you’re wearing it all the time, so in the very least, this brace makes it possible to comfortably wear the other brace!)I may still wear the other brace I had over it for two reasons. I could use a touch more patella support (but I have EDS and my guess is someone with a normal body would do fine with this) and one reason the other one was helpful is that it helped keep my knee immobilizer up, which I’m supposed to wear when I do more than lay around and walk to the bathroom. Fun fact: knee immobilizers tend to stay up on a man’s straight leg, but not on a woman’s curvy leg. I figured out that wearing a brace under the immobilizer helps hold it up. I guess by making the diameter wider around the knee to match the wider lady thigh. The other brace I’m wearing over it in the picture is a “Dr Brace” brand if you, too, need one.For sizing, I was on the cusp of two sizes. Either should have fit me. The smaller size was better.

I was hoping this would be a cool brace to wear under a pair of pants during the summer. It provides pretty good support, but it isn't comfortable to wear next to the skin for any length of time. The material quickly feels harsh and scratchy. In future, I may wear it over leggings or just wear it for a short time when I am doing an activity. But I won't be using it for all day support under pants in the way I was hoping to. On the good side, it doesn't have the little squiggle lines or dots of silicone to hold it up. I am allergic to those, which makes many braces unwearable for me.

First, I just want to say that I followed the sizing guide and it seemed to be accurate. If anything the brace may run a tad large, but it was definitely the right size. So I had no issues with fit. But if you are on the lower end of the size specifications, it may be worth ordering a size down.Anyway, the brace itself is fine. It offers a decent amount of support with the side stabilizers, and the elastic velcro support straps do make a big difference. I like having the ability to adjust the amount of compression.Before purchasing this brace I read a number of reviews and felt confident about giving it a try. But now after having tried it, I'm surprised I haven't seen any mention of what I found to be quite a significant flaw. And that is with the overall "open back" design combined with the velcro straps. Individually these are good, but combined it is extremely uncomfortable.Since the elastic straps cross over the back of the knee, it immediately starts rubbing against the exposed skin. This can be mitigated be wearing the brace over clothing, but I've never found braces to work as well that way. The silicone grip works better on skin. The best solution I've found is to first strap my knee with an elastic ACE bandage first (but not tight so as to not add compression) and then put this brace over it. That way I have some protection on the back of my knee from the chaffing straps.While I understand that having an open back knee makes the area more breathable, I just find that a closed back design would be more comfortable with the crossover straps. So basically it would be more of a sleeve instead of a wrap. Then again, since I don't see anyone else reporting this problem, maybe it is just a "me" issue. Believe me when I say I have tried adjusting the straps many times in an attempt to have them not cross over the back of my knee. But it just doesn't work like that, and even if it did it would then not provide the same level of support.In conclusion, the elastic straps are good, just not over bare skin at the back of the knee.

I purchased one of these braces, like it, ordered a second of the same size but it is a lot smaller. I have attempted to contact Neenca about the inconsistent sizing/defective product but have not gotten a reply. The one star is for the poor/non-existent customer service. I hope this review will prompt a reply and resolution to the problem. Buyer beware - sizing is inconsistent.