Most folks don’t give too much thought to their bones and muscles either. Still, those among us who want to lift weights recreationally or professionally and build muscle strength need to take our knees seriously and learn as much as possible.
These large joints are pretty complex. They are comprised of four parts – cartilage, bones, tendons, and ligaments, and their main purpose is to connect the shinbone and the femur. Apart from that, as a joint, the knee allows for flexion and extension as well as some lateral and medial rotation. In simplest terms the primary function of the knee is to enable us to sit, run, jump, stand and squat!
Okay, but why do people use sleeves and wraps when working out?! You have probably heard plenty of times so far that regular exercising helps our joints to become strong and healthy. While that is true, many bodybuilders, weight, and powerlifters experience pain and injuries! That is pretty paradoxical, you must think!
Weight training does indeed improve knee strength, but only when done properly. The force placed on joints when we are lifting is mainly applied vertically, which makes weight training relatively safe for the knees. However, to prevent getting hurt we need to make sure that our technique is impeccable, which is not always the case. That is where knee sleeves come in handy as they ensure the stability of the joint and help us maintain the proper position. On another side, as we mentioned, lifters who want to continually up the game by increasing the loads, find wraps efficient since they allow them to lift heavy without getting injured.