2021-033 | BAUERFEIND GENUTRAIN KNEE SUPPORT

THE WEAR AND TEAR OF a knee can only be felt during an accident or when old age comes knocking. I was active in basketball and football during my younger days but that was just about the best that my knees were exposed to the threat of a sprain. When you are not a professional leaguer and you are rearing a family you have to abandon your active lifestyle. So, I possessed a healthy pair of knees. 

Later in life I begun to find more time with my hands. I was in a mid-life crisis and, to rid of boredom and arthritis, I have to be out of my home and explore the outdoors. I reclaimed back my life and beat arthritis out of my knees. But in late 2017, I felt something unusual in my right knee that is different from arthritis. It was a bit annoying but I ignored it until I came to receive a BAUERFEIND GenuTrain Knee Support as a Christmas gift and decide to use it on my one annoying knee in an outdoor exercise.  

It was on a difficult day where an early morning rain made the ground wet and unfavorable for a perfect hike. Ninety percent of the hike was downhill but it made the best for this preventive contraption. Constant application of brake on the toe and the heel to stymie the downhill force could cause undue pressure on one knee joint but being supported with a BAUERFEIND GenuTrain Knee Support made a big difference.

For someone who relied so much with the strength and flexibility of the knees for a long time, my wearing of the BAUERFEIND GenuTrain improved the strength and stability of a knee. Although I used the one healthy knee most of the time, there were instances that I have to use the weaker one, but supported by the knee contraption, I gained a little confidence to reach stable footings as I made my way down the trail.

It was a wet day yet the elastic fabric wicked away moisture, since it is quick drying. The edges had not chafed skin nor developed sore spots. Its grip on the lower thigh and upper part of lower leg had not sagged despite the monotonous movement in wet conditions on the part where the BAUERFEIND GenuTrain is worn and it freed me from constantly adjusting it upwards. I felt my knee was not abused by the hard activity and the knee support satisfies me.

The only complaint I have of it is the elastic fabric constricted flow of blood to upper thigh and caused tightness of muscle function, especially on the inner muscle group close to the crotch. The tightness resulted to a bearable pain which was annoying at some point of the hard physical exertion. Repositioning the upper edge solved the problem temporarily though and I repeat the process. 

Three years later, almost on same date, this time my left knee is kind of unstable lately caused by my lifting of heavy objects multiple times for three days straight over a distance of 65+ meters. Yes I was hefting sacks of cement and sand, composite boards and lumber. I could do these things easily when I was younger but when you are approaching 60, it is kind of different anymore. The problem is I have a schedule for a year-end hike with my club.

I have to suit the BAUERFEIND GenuTrain again for this 12-hour hike. This time, the left knee is experiencing considerable pain compared with the other knee last time and seems wobbly. But I trusted my BAUERFEIND GenuTrain and fixed it comfortably as I could and made good adjustments to achieve knee alignment. The elasticity is still there and it held tighter to my lower thigh now since I added centimeters into my legs because of inactivity and travel restrictions caused by this pandemic.

The BAUERFEIND GenuTrain made sure that my left knee would stay true with its alignment. I never missed a step nor winced in pain for that matter as I would have if I was not wearing this knee support. Because of the added thickness of my leg, I cannot sit normally as the knee support braces would compress hard the sides of the knee joint and on the back of the knee if I bend that one problem knee. I have to straighten the leg and relieve pressure by sliding the knee support inches down.   

This is an unsolicited product review but the wearing of this active knee support could improve your performance just as I have had experienced. There is a difference when you are not wearing one and it does not retard your movement except for those minor problems that I had explained above. You just have to adapt with the discomforts. BAUERFEIND GenuTrain Knee Support is Made in Germany and, therefore, not cheap. 

Here are some of the interesting and helpful features of the BAUERFEIND GenuTrain Knee Support:

 

·        Donning and Doffing Stays which are found on both sides of the knee support. It is made of flexible polyurethane material to aid in proper setting of the knee support.

·        A train-knit material that is lightweight and more breathable, providing better comfort and compliance for your movements.

·        Omega+ Pad. A patented pain-relieving pad made of viscoelastic ring encases the kneecap and provides instant massage as you move, enhancing circulation in the joint capsule and reduces swelling.

·        Good for strains, tendinitis, swelling, pain, jumper’s knee, runner's knee, feelings of instability, lateral meniscus tear, and Osgood-Schlatters syndrome.

 

Here in the Philippines, it could be bought online at Lazada with a price range of P5,500 to P8,900. Do not be deceived by cheaper knee supports that looked like the BAUERFEIND GenuTrain Knee Support. Mine was bought from S&R. You could also find similar BAUERFEIND knee supports online at Shopee, Galleon, Chris Sports, UBuy and iprice.ph. In case you might want to know, there is a page in Facebook called the Bauerfeind Users Philippines. Visit Breaking Muscle for more information and in-depth review by Sally Arsenault.

2021-032 | PAYING CLOSE ATTENTION TO NATURE, PART 2

WISDOM TRAILS: When you do not race against time and against your itinerary you see everything. You would have seen this event and you would have understood why the brown fly willed itself in the middle of two lines of harm.

 

First seen in Facebook

July 21, 2018

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IF YOU ARE TOTALLY CONNECTED with the environment you are in, you would totally see each and every detail. To do so, you would have to shed something in you which does not fit in. It could be your attitude. It could be the smell and color of your clothes. It could be your adherence to time. Or it could be the number of people with you. 

Fitting in is not about feelings and that sort of thing. It is about just you and nobody else. You may wander along a trail yet you are blind and deaf to the many events unfolding all around you. Your presence is just skin deep. Try to close your eyes first and take a deep breath. Inhale the essence of the place. You would notice not the silence but the life around you.

Feel the ground vibrate. Hear the birdsongs and the insects buzz. Try to focus more on the slightest sounds and the whispers of the tiny creatures. Dance with the leaves and branches as the breeze stirs it to life. Blend with your surroundings. Make the best of your presence by appreciating life to the fullest. Touch a tree trunk. Smell a flower.

Look up, once in a while, over the canopies, for a glimpse of the blue sky and a passing cloud to break the green monotony. Look down, most of the time, beyond the undergrowth, to witness life amidst the decay. A hole there and a scat there. A leftover fruit at your right and a footprint up ahead. A loosened rock and an unnaturally bent leaf exposing its underside.

Follow that foot ahead of you and watch where the owner stayed for a while. Excitement pumps your heart faster as you found many traces of paw prints beside that human you followed and you know that those prints were that of a dog’s. Slowly, you begin to enjoy this contactless and invisible rapport as if you are reading a book.

As you sharpened your wits to new heights, you notice that your footfalls are light. You now move without a sound and you leave with almost no traces of you. Your feet becomes discriminating on where you place it. You now preferred to step on rocks and exposed roots. You even step beyond a line of ants crossing the path. 

Your eyes begin to catch slight movements and you see a spotted dove from your peripheral vision poised to glide from a low branch to a much lower branch. You turned your head to its direction and the bird flew away, startled at your presence. You learned a mistake and then, after that, you could see everything now. 

Another line of ants crossing the trail. You stopped instead and bent your knees to see their activity better. While staying still, you observed that there are two lines of ants instead of one and there was a fly in between them. Why did the fly placed itself to potential harm? You ask yourself. Then in one swift move, the fly snatched a tiny sphere of moisture from one ant and repeated it many times on the other ants.

That fly was a reflection of you. You are in harm’s way while you walked the path alone but you persisted to stay and, in fact, kept coming back, because you liked it. While you were at it, you snatched tidbits of information and common sense in your solitude wanderings that your superficial world could not provide you. End of story.

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WARRIOR PILGRIMAGE BLOG, personified by this writer, is synonymous with the Outdoors, since Bushcraft and Survival is its niche. Safety and Security are its bedrock when it ventured into organizing outdoor events that involved people as in adventure/pilgrimage guideships and seminars; and explorations and expeditions. 

Through tutorship, experience, folk knowledge and good old common sense, this writer was able to collect useful information which he is currently documenting in a book titled, ETHICAL BUSHCRAFT. He shares some of this information and knowledge in his training sessions; in his social-media account; and in this blog.