If you are a regular reader of this blog, you may remember that I have what I refer to as a dodgy knee. The technical term for what my issues is actually, Osteoarthritis, which I was diagnosed with about 15 years ago, so I am no stranger to various methods of both knee support combined with varying degrees of pushing though the pain and denial. But mostly, I try to be a good girl (hi Mom) and take care of my dodgy knee so I can keep running. So yeah, finding a good knee support is something that has always been important to me to keep me moving through it.
It became especially important to me in the last few months because I was training a lot on trail for an Ultra and the extra wear and tear of elevation changes and uneven surfaces have been havoc on my knee. I'm not gonna lie, I've struggled a bit, even with using my usual Kinesiology Sports Tape (which has actually started to really irritate my skin lately - has anyone else had this problem?.
Pretty darn awesome to tell the truth. First off, it's super easy to slide on. It stretches a lot, but once in position compresses and stays in place. There's a handy sizing chart on their website to make sure you order the correct fit. It's also super thin, which I was concerned about when I first ordered the sleeve. See, it's winter right now and my running wardrobe consists mainly of tights currently and I wondered how bulky this would be under tights. Not at all! In fact, you wouldn't even know I was wearing them. I actually posted a pic of my legs on Twitter asking people to guess which knee had the sleeve on it and it was pretty impossible to tell.
Anyway, with a really aggressive race season coming up (seriously, I have WAY too many races on my Spring Calendar 9 races of varying distances in the next 2 months) I was getting a bit worried about how I would hold up. Enter Body Helix Full Knee Compression Sleeve to the rescue!
First off, I have to mention just how fast my order arrived. I received an email from Body Helix confirming my order. The same day I got another saying it had shipped. I received it 2 days later, which was awesome, just in time for my weekend long trail run. It actually came on a Friday, so I decided to take it right out for a run to make sure that it would feel good before committing to wearing it for a 15 mile run. And how did it work for me?
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| What about you? Can you tell which leg has the Knee Compression Sleeve on it? Let me know in the comments. |
The first thing I noticed when running with it was that it seemed to generate a sort of heat. Like not in a distracting way, but in a, hey that feels nice kind of way. It provided awesome support, wasn't awkward when bending my knee and I felt pretty great throughout the run.
Anticipating no issues, I was enthused about taking it out on the trails the next day. And it worked out great! Snug, supportive and a much better option than tape. Plus, a serious added benefit over tape is that the sleeve is reusable. In fact, it is machine washable and dry which is a HUGE plus for me.
I've been using it regularly for about a month now, including my trail training and a super HILLY road race last week, and have been really impressed with how it works for me. And my run bestie, Kim, recently clued me into using it for things other than running, which, duh, hadn't occurred to me for some reason, so I have started using it on heavy cardio and lower body strength days at Burn Boot Camp as well.
Body Helix makes a wide variety of compression products so if you have an injury, recurring pain or a joint disease like osteoarthritis like me, no matter what part of your body, odds are they have something that will help you. Check out their wide product range here: https://bodyhelix.com/shop/. And for a bit of added incentive, you can use this discount code to save 15% off your order: BH15BR. Plus, not that it is important really, but let's be honest, it low key is - they come in all kinds of cute colors. I just love my pretty teal sleeve! Super cute and super functional.
Some of my other BibRave crew have tried out other compression products as well and you can read their reviews here:
Kim - https://barkingmadaboutrunning.blogspot.com/2020/02/living-with-osteoarthritis-body-helix.html
Corey - https://husbandfatherathletemarathoner.blogspot.com/2020/03/my-body-helix-arm-compression-sleeve.html
Corey - https://husbandfatherathletemarathoner.blogspot.com/2020/03/my-body-helix-arm-compression-sleeve.html
Michelle - http://www.runningwithattitude.com/2020/02/body-helix-thigh-compression-sleeve-review.html
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| Two of the smiling BibRave Pros are rocking Body Helix Knee Sleeves, Kim in the middle and me on the right |
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