Lee Richards discusses the importance of knee protection and how it prevents and preserves knee damage.

REPETITOUS motion is a breeding ground for a multitude of ‘overuse’ injuries. If you work in the wood and laminate flooring industry, as gratifying as our craft might be, the unfortunate downside is you may be a victim of frequent back and knee pain. Without proper safety precautions taken, you could be setting yourself up for years of discomfort in the future. Preserving your knee health is commonly overlooked in younger years but is essential to the prolonging of one’s career and overall quality of life.

Awareness and proactivity are the key components to longevity of optimal knee and back health. Preventative solutions such as consistently utilising knee pads, practicing proper lifting and bending techniques, as well as strengthening your supporting muscles will all contribute to a happier, healthier knee and back situation. Bear in mind, your knees and back work in a harmonic exchange of workload so what damage you create to one will always affect the other.

At ProKnee Corp, we receive numerous case studies from installers that were ready to quit their 20-30 year careers and start over in a completely new field, not because they wanted to, but because their knees couldn’t take the pressure until they tried knee pads. With some companies such as Proknee for example, who have custom fit products, it creates an even weight distribution through its patented shin support system that takes weight off the joints and spreads it out over the length of the shins. Even weight distribution creates a center of balance at the midpoint of the shins (rather than directly on the knees), which reduces direct pressure and forces the user to use proper kneeling techniques that can preserve knee health and aid current knee conditions.

To understand the importance of this, let’s delve a little deeper into the mechanics of your knee joint on a typical workday. When the weight of a person is concentrated in the knee area, there’s friction between the bones at the joint. Sandwiched between the bones lies a thin layer of cartilage and tissue (meniscus), that acts as a cushion, which allows pain free movement of the joint. With not much natural support to hold it together, the joint continuously works on this thin layer until it starts to wear out. This may cause an assortment of knee problems including loose joints, knee burn pain, fluid buildup and tissue swelling. The key to keeping a knee-joint healthy is by stabilising the area around the joint from excessive movement as weight is applied.

Knee pad companies have worked to revolutionise the industry with preventative and preservative methods of knee pad design to support the meniscus while stabilising the area around the joint from excessive movement as weight is applied. Some knee pads in the market also include resilient and replaceable cellular urethane cushions with consistent compression spring back to help to absorb shock out of day-to-day wear and tear from kneeling. Additionally, straps can be located well below the knee joint to help eliminate uncomfortable pinching and circulation issues.

So, whether opting for a high-end custom fit knee pad or picking up some generic knee protection at your local hardware store, protect your knees – they’re the only ones you’ve got.
info@proknee.co.uk
www.proknee.com
Lee Richards is president of Proknee Corp