FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if the FlowState Knee Brace will work for my knee injury?
Flowstate is designed to provide moderate compression and mild to moderate stabilization for sprain and strain related knee injuries. Flowstate empowers your return to an active lifestyle including walking, standing, driving, jogging, hiking, and performing a home therapeutic exercise program. It is not a custom, maximum, stabilizing brace custom fit for return to high impact sports that require maximum pivoting, lateral movements, cutting, and jumping. Flowstate is most helpful in the early days of rehabilitation and mobility in and out of the home; and for routine preventative self care of cooling and heating your painful knee symptoms. Your healthcare team may prescribe a particular brace for your unique diagnosis as you become further aware of the nature of your injury. If you suffer a blow to your knee from an object, or cannot walk more than 8-10 feet, it is recommended you seek emergency care including Insta-Care professional advice and care.
When is the best time to purchase the FlowState Knee Brace if I experience a painful knee injury?
This knee brace ideally, is purchased the day the injury occurs.
Flowstate provides protection to your injured knee so that you do not injure it further; compression to soothe inflamed tissue and reduce swelling; cooling and or heating from our hand made gel packs in the interior sleeves; and stabilization living hinge side supports to allow maximum knee extension/flexion to provide support for allowed activities.
Do I have to know my exact diagnosis or degree of injury to use the FlowState Knee Brace?
Our Flowstate philosophy understands it takes time to determine the severity of your injury. The average customer journey to complete X-rays; MRI’s, Physical Therapy, Athletic Training, Chiropractic and MD visits if needed may involve many weeks to be scheduled and performed. Most mild to moderate knee sprains and strains heal gradually, however, it takes a certain investment of time, patience, and professional screening to allow these minor injuries to heal.
What is the inherent benefit of being able to stay active with cold/heat therapy?
Our Flowstate modular system optimizes knee injuries to heal faster with compliant self care. Flowstate provides the environment of protection, compression, temperature therapy, and stabilization. Why? No two knees are alike, even if they have the exact same medical diagnosis. Knees heal faster when each symptom is addressed compliantly. Consider the “saturation” approach, for a severe sprained knee: swollen, painful, and limited walking. This weekend warrior could cool, add compression, and general stability for 6-8 applications during the day while staying mobile, working, training, caring for family members, travel, basically all Activities of Daily Living.
How long do the packs stay cold enough to be therapeutic? Warm enough?
We recommend Cold/Hot packs to be worn for 15 minutes only and inside the bamboo charcoal fabric sleeves sewn inside the compression wrap. Consider using the Hot gel packs to warm up the knee joint prior to recreation, or before stretching tight hamstrings to loosen up. For example: while having coffee or driving to the slopes. We firmly advise to take the gel packs out for sports and activities, they are bulky and gravity will pull them down. Putting the Cold gel packs in immediately after sports is ideal. You could even cool knees during 1/2 time of a sports game, or on the bench. Most people neglect to ice and in a timely manner because it requires a “habit” or steps to ice that are not automatic. Flowstate helps make these strong, self preservation acts easy and attainable.
Do you think Flowstate would help just as a stabilizer in addition to its therapeutic cooling and heating properties for overcoming injuries?
We recommend you use your Flowstate knee wrap in the following versions to experience every supportive therapeutic property. First, wear your neoprene “Scout” wrap alone for its adjustable compression. Next, place the modular living hinge side supports in their respective medial and lateral pockets on the outside of the wrap. They are designed to provide light support only and proprioception to your muscles, ligaments, and tendons around your knee joint. Remove the medial and lateral side supports to explore wearing the cooling and heating gel packs in their three respective pockets. You can place all three side by side, or just place one or two packs in the exact area that is sore, just as behind or on the outside of your knee. As you begin to pay closer attention to your knee symptoms each day, you will develop a clear understanding of whether you need to upgrade to a more stabilizing brace. You can always use your Scout wrap for compression, cooling and heating properties even if your knee requires a prescribed more stabilizing brace later on for more demanding movement and mobility.
How do I alternate between the cold gel packs and the hot gel packs?
The gel packs are dual function and designed for cooling after being stored in the freezer. Once thawed out they may be heated in the microwave or a pan of hot water. Learn if your knee prefers cooling, heating or both? New injuries tend to favor cooling, and tight muscles or aches may be soothed with heating. Be very careful when handling the cool or hot gel packs and use kitchen tools such as tongs and wooden spoons to place the gel packs in their bamboo fabric pocket liners. We recommend you purchase a second tri-pack of gel packs to add more options such as a double set for frequent icing, or designated sets one for cooling, and one for heating. The gel will gradually form small bubbles over time and they should be stored out of direct sunlight. If you need more gel packs, reach out to our team for tips and suggestions to order more when desired.
What if I do not need or choose to wear the knee stabilizer inserts that come with the Scout kit?
Not every knee symptom demands the stabilizer side supports. We designed our system and kit to empower our Flowstate customers with the option to explore how to best care for and help their knee heal properly. If you do not choose to use the stabilizer inserts, you can purchase your Flowstate Scout Wrap alone with the cooling and heating gel tri-pack kits. If you order our entire kit and don’t use the inserts, please contact our support team for instructions to compensate you as you return the inserts as we will gladly take the steps to recycle their materials. Additionally, if you use your inserts for a few weeks or months and no longer require them, our support team will also assist you to mail them back to our company headquarters for recycling. Please don’t throw them in the landfill!
What are your Stabilization living hinge inserts made of? What makes them unique to other side knee supports?
Our stability inserts are made of TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) a hybrid material combining the flexibility and elasticity of both rubber and plastic. We designed our living hinge inserts using engineering through Computer Assist Design (CAD) from our local engineering experts here in Utah, at High Rustler Systems Design. Seeking evidence based data and philosophy; we sponsored a Capstone team of engineering students; researching motion capture data of our targeted knee and lower limb movements at the University of Utah Motion-Capture lab in the engineering school. Together combining Physical Therapy bio-mechanics and our systems engineering team we designed our unique living hinge flexion system to create our protective hinge inserts. Our designs allow more flexibility and freedom of movement to support our natural knee anatomy of muscles, tendons and ligaments to be the first active line of support and stability while wearing our Flowstate product as additional support to our inherent wisdom to stabilize.
How did you come up with the Brand Flowstate?
We discovered Flowstate creative branding at the University of Utah, while myself, founder of VIBE Tech Utah, Megan Hanrahan, was in graduate school at the U of Uah. I was enrolled in business school in the Master of Business Creation program. I was selected by a team of MBA students who wanted to give back to a healthcare start-up company while they were in business school simultaneously. This robust team of MBA students were uniquely athletic and pursued many recreational and sports outlets, including rock climbing, swimming, ski racing, and military physical conditioning to serve in our National Guard. My dynamic capstone team spent months researching branding and design, as well as a customized business thesis that helped Flowstate emerge powerfully both in its name, and identity. I am so grateful for the opportunity to work and design with this team because innovation happens so organically and spontaneously.
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