Cross country skiers with knee issues should check out these tights by Stoko

By Keith and Heather Nicol
Cross country skiing is a sport known for being easy on the joints but sometimes general wear and tear creates knee problems for many people. And for active people the last thing we want to  have are knee issues that may prevent us from doing the sports we love. Often cross country skiers will wear bulky knee braces which are hard to fit under over ski pants or on top of tights but STOKO has revolutionized managing knee support by making tights that are also act as a brace. Amazing!! 

                        You would never knnow Mike Akey had knee issues the way he skis wearing the Stoko tights

The tights have over 30 meters of cables woven into the fabric in a crisscross fashion from the waistband to the ankle. By tightening the control knobs at the back of the tights you can create the amount of compression and support you need for your knee. If you only have problems with 1 knee you can dial up the right amount of support for that knee and leave the other side with less support. The tights seem to help a number of knee issues like ligament problems (ie ACL etc) as well as meniscus tears as this video (below) shows with Masters Biathlete and avid cross country skier Mike Akey.  The tights will also help you recover from knee injuries as well as possibly prevent them in the first place  

 

The STOKO tights do cost much more than drug store knee braces but they are registered as a CLASS 1  Medical Device and FDA approved. The brace will likely be reimbursable through Health Spending Accounts by Canadian insurers.As for general benefits plans, reimbursement will depend on your exact medical coverage. 

                                                      Mike skating to the Biathlon Range

STOKO makes 3 different tights including warmer tights for alpine skiers to lighter ones for summer activities. They are machine washable (just put them in the bag they come in) and be sure to watch the training videos about putting them on and wearing them for the first time. They need to be worn a few times to get the cables to stretch out. So check them out to see if they might help your any knee issues you might have. And remember they aren’t just for skiers- they will help hikers, bikers, runners or anyone looking for abit more knee support. Click STOKO for details.

 Also be sure to put in K2NICOL to save yourself 10% at the checkout.