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How To Wrap A Knee? Step by Step Guide to Getting it Right

Posted on July 05 2017

How To Wrap A Knee - Tips To Help Reduce Knee Pain

Knee wraps help to combat knee pain. They prevent inflammation in the knee joint and the surrounding ligaments and muscles. They are effective in dealing with sprains, swelling, hamstring injuries and other knee related issues.

You don’t have to be injured to wear knee wraps. They are an inexpensive, effective and safe way to prevent injuries. Athletes and sports enthusiasts can minimize risk of knee injury by wearing wraps.

Using knee wraps for pain relief and treatment also provides additional support and stability. When combined with icing or heat therapy, knee wraps can facilitate faster recovery of strained joints and muscles. This makes them ideal for runners, weight lifters, basketball players and fitness oriented persons in general. They’re even great for people who have had knee surgery.

So how do you wrap a knee the right way?

This video from YouTube gives a great overview of how to wrap a bandage around your knee:

Knowing how to wrap a knee for pain relief is essential for physical therapists and athletes. In order to do it properly, you’ll need a bandage and some other supplies, such as pain relieving spray or ointment. Several types of wraps are available in the market. You can opt for the conventional rolling wraps, adhesive bandages or specialized proprietary wraps. Rolling bandages are quite popular for injury treatment, so we'll learn how to wrap an injured knee with a traditional rolling bandage.

      1) Place your leg in a natural position and allow for a slight bend in the knee. You may spray or apply some kind of ointment over the area.

      2) Hold one end of the bandage firmly against the kneecap and begin wrapping the bandage around.

      3) Make sure to cover above and below the cap. This provides maximum external support not just to the joint – but also to the ligaments, muscles and connective tissue.


      4) Don’t wrap too tightly as this will hamper blood circulation to the affected area.

      5) Make sure that the you’re comfortable with the pressure.

      6) Secure the bandage in place with tape or Velcro strip that comes with it.

          As you can see, a conventional wrap gets the job done but it has several limitations, namely:

          1) It is time consuming. Wrapping one leg can take up to several minutes. Wrapping both will take even longer. Often, people avoid wrapping just because it is a time consuming and cumbersome affair.

          2) You cannot use cryotherapy (icing) or thermotherapy (heat packs) with these bandages.

          3) It takes experience and practice to tie or wrap the bandages securely. Sometimes, the fit is too snug and you have to unroll and wrap around again. If you wrap too loosely, the bandage might come off while you’re out exercising or socializing. You’ll then have to take time out to re-apply and secure the bandage again.

          4) Wrapping is even more tedious for people who are not comfortable bending forward. They have to recruit help from a friend or relative. People might oblige the first few times but eventually, they’ll get tired of helping out.

          5) Conventional bandages have zero aesthetic value. They are usually beige – which is the most uninspiring color of all! Let’s face it, they make you appear sick or weak, even if you’re not. Plus, the material is not exactly skin friendly. If you get an urge to itch, you’ll have to unwrap the entire thing and then secure it all over again.

          6) The wraps soil easily and are difficult to clean. They lose their shape after a few rounds in the washing machine.

          If you have nothing else available, then go ahead and use a conventional bandage. If you value your time and care about your knees, get something that is easier to use and more effective. (More on this later).

          Adhesive bandages are also an option for knee pain – as long as you are not allergic to tape adhesive. The adhesive is really strong – it leaves ugly sticky marks on your skin if you do not use pre-wrap which adds up in cost.

          Removing the bandage is a pain – you’ll end up pulling out a lot of hair if your a guy. This can cause a lot of discomfort.

          If you don’t secure the bandage correctly, your skin will get pulled as you move your leg – not exactly the most satisfying feeling in the world.

          Some sticky wraps are meant to be left on for a couple of days at least – depending upon the instructions. So you cannot have a normal bath or shower.

          And now, the easy way:

          All in all, adhesive wraps do little to support the knee and cause a lot of inconvenience – aside from a bit of psychological confidence .

          Learning how to wrap a knee can be a bigger pain than the injury itself. This brings us to the proprietary knee wraps, and we naturally recommend the Activewrap Heat & Ice Knee Wrap for a multitude of reasons:

          1) They are super-easy to apply. They can be tightened or loosened within second with their plush compression straps.

          2) They combine compression with icing or heat therapy. Icing is effective against inflammation and muscle soreness. It soothes swollen tissue and numbs the pain. Heat helps to deal with chronic pain. It eliminates stiffness and tightness and relaxes the nervous system. Activewrap provides uniform icing/heating with no mess.

          A conventional bandage doesn’t do this. You’ll have to hold an ice/heat pack or bag over the area. This can get uncomfortable as ice is hard and has sharp edges.

          Also, water accumulates over the ice bag and drops on to the floor below. This can cause slips and falls. An Activewrap Knee Wrap does away with all these hassles, and you can continue your routine as normal while wearing it!

          3) They are 100% FDA registered. Patented design provides uniform cold therapy and helps reduces the need for extra medication.

          4) Comfortable and lightweight. Designed by professional physical therapists.

          5) Manufactured using non-toxic, skin-friendly materials.

          6) Easy to clean – just a simple rinse and hang dry does the job.

          7) Available in a variety of sizes – small, medium, large, extra large and even extra wide. Additional custom compression straps are available for all body parts.

          8) Highly durable. A typical Activewrap lasts two to three years even upon daily use.

          9) Looks stylish too. An Activewrap Wrap appears less like a wrap and more like some sort of protective gear that skaters, cyclists and motorcyclists wear. You’ll not feel self conscious when wearing these. 

          10) Priced extremely reasonable and a mere fraction of the cost of cryopump coolers.

          11) 100% satisfaction guarantee.

          12) Thousands of people from all corners of the world use and trust Activewrap.

          These wraps have helped them to alleviate pain, prevent injuries and lead a more fulfilling lifestyle.

          These ice & heat wraps are available not just for the knees, but also for hips, shoulders, wrists, elbows, ankles and so on.

          More Wrapping Tutorials:

          Browse our full product line today, or if you’re not sure what you need shop based on your injury.