So, you have now decided that a knee brace is required: from where can one be purchased? Presuming that you have had the relevant medical diagnosis and advice, probably the most obvious place to start would be the Internet. Any search engine will bring up a plethora of sites, all intent on parting you from your cash for a huge variety of knee braces! If, on the other hand, you prefer to acquire your knee advice, as well as the knee brace, from the Internet, then there are sites which combine the two!

Aside from the basic decision between the functional knee brace and prophylactic knee brace, there are all sorts of different materials from which to choose; there are even hinged and unhinged knee braces! There are knee braces specifically for arthritic conditions; post'op knee braces; magnetic knee braces; one designed for sports injuries; professional knee braces and even paediatric knee braces from those tender, young knees! Ultimately the matter depends on the type of ligament injury and the problems which you might have with knee movement.

From some sites, which claim to be constructed by orthopaedic surgeons, comes a whole litany of advice appertaining to fitting the specific knee brace to the physical problem. Whether the particular symptoms are related to definite injury to one of the four main ligament groups, or to the more generalised and vague "knee giving way", there is a hinged, unhinged, or lightweight knee brace for you. Some exotic names belie the mundane nature of the product: one might choose "Extreme", "Legend" or the exotic "Playfair" or simply the rather more prosaic "Comfort".

One site that is related to the prevention of ligament damage to those knees exposed to the rigours of motorcross, or motor biking in general, gave graphic descriptions of the dangers of riding without a protective knee brace. Fortunately the injury sustained in this particular incident, was not due to an accident of dramatic proportions. However, it served to demonstrate that even the simplest scrape on a bike can cause harm to the delicate knee ligaments. The author went on to recommend several knee braces with "Terminator"-style letter/number combos.

Nevertheless, as the sites researched for this article pointedly recommend, most knee braces, particularly the prophylactic kinds designed to prevent injury must be fitted! Therefore they suggest that an extensive visit, in person, to a qualified medical practitioner, or sports-injury specialist is a must!