Frequently Asked Questions

What Makes BraceX Unique?

BraceX is the only device that provides enough force, proper positioning, and speed for a patient to achieve eccentric exercise while remaining portable. Other methods of eccentric exercise are too difficult or bulky for a patient to access alone. They’re also less effective and only reduce injury risk by 51%.

Our device allows rental programs or for physical therapists to loan it to their patients so they can do recovery exercises at home while their provider monitors and guides their progress. This helps the PTs free up valuable clinic hours for other issues while the patient makes progress on their injury safely and independently.

Our device also provides both biofeedback and exertion and pain tracking so that the patient and PT can accurately track the patient’s progress, or so athletes can test their strength, screening for risk of injuries and avoiding them before they happen.

Who Would Benefit From Purchasing BraceX?

Physical therapists, athletes, and trainers can all benefit from owning a BraceX.

Physical therapists can loan out the device to their patients who have suffered from a hamstring injury or recently had knee replacements. Knee replacements are projected to rise 400% by 2030 and often require 22 physical therapy appointments in the first 90 days from surgery. By purchasing a BraceX, physical therapists can guide these patients’ recovery without the need for as many in-clinic visits. This will free up more of their in-person appointments for higher-value services.

Athletes and trainers can utilize the machine for a faster return to sport after injury. They can also use its strength monitoring to identify potential weaknesses and strengthen them in order to avoid future injuries.

What Issues Does BraceX Solve?

Beyond allowing patients to recover more fully from hamstring injuries and knee replacement surgeries, BraceX solves a number of issues that PTs struggle with when assisting their clients.

While 100% of PTs agree that eccentric exercises are crucial for recovery, they find it difficult to make them challenging enough to be effective when the patient does them independently at home. BraceX provides enough force to combat this issue.

PTs also worry that their patients can’t perform the home exercises correctly, and 50% of patients aren’t compliant with their home exercise plans. Since BraceX features indicators that guarantee proper placement of the device, patients can accurately complete the exercise they need to, and PTs can monitor their workouts, ensuring they are compliant.

How Safe Is BraceX?

Indicators on the device ensure the patient has it properly aligned with their joint so that the machine can safely guide their movement.

The device also pairs with a mobile application that measures their strength so that they can exercise in a safe zone and their PT can monitor their progress. The device features several modes: Basic, Moderate, SubMax, or Supra Max so that the patient and PT can decide on the appropriate level of effort based on where they are in their recovery.

How Do You Use It?

BraceX is a lightweight, easy-to-use device that patients can put on and take off without assistance for either the right or left limb. Once secured to the knee with straps, the device is aligned properly using built-in indicators. A mobile app then guides the user through a strength assessment and personalized exercise protocols with real-time feedback provided during each session. For hamstring rehabilitation, an optional tilt mechanism can be attached. The device tracks progress, sending data to the patient’s provider for ongoing adjustments to their program. After use, BraceX is easily removed and stored compactly until the next session.

What Is Eccentric Exercise?

Eccentric and concentric exercises are the opposite of one another.

Concentric exercise shortens the muscle, whereas eccentric exercise lengthens it.

When you push upward out of a squat or push-up position, this is concentric exercise. When you lower yourself, it’s an eccentric exercise. Eccentric exercise applies a greater force to the muscles than it can produce.

Eccentric exercises focus on the “lengthening” phase of muscle movement, where the muscle contracts as it elongates, typically under load or resistance. This type of exercise emphasizes the controlled lowering or stretching phase of a movement, as opposed to the concentric phase, where the muscle shortens or contracts as you lift a weight. For the quadriceps muscle, this would occur as the device moves your knee in a flexing motion and you attempt to straighten your knee. As for the hamstring muscle, an eccentric muscle contraction would occur as the device moves your knee into an extended position as you attempt to bend your knee into a flexed position.

What Kind of Conditions Can Eccentric Training Help With?

Patients suffering from a torn ACL or a hamstring injury, or who have recently gone through a knee replacement can all benefit from BraceX.

Eccentric training has also helped patients with COPD develop improved tolerance to exercise, and those with Parkinson’s disease develop higher quality of life scores. Those suffering from cerebral palsy have fewer co-contractions after doing eccentric exercises as well.