'Happy Knees Day'

Simply send in your email with the subject heading ‘HAPPY KNEES COMPETITION’, by March 20th, with an amusing picture of your idea of a pair of happy knees, plus a suitable caption to go with it, to sales@redbackscushioning.com. The four entries judged to be the funniest or most clever, will be published in HSM's April issue. The four winning entrants will each receive a new pair of Redbacks work-trouser pocket kneepads worth £25.

Redbacks Cushioning has also provided some top tips for keeping your knees safe and healthy:

• Try not to twist the knee joint while it is bent to do whatever job you are doing as this greatly increases the risk of injury.

• Kneeling or squatting for extended periods places a lot of pressure on knee joints. It is important to relieve that pressure by moving the joint through its full range of motion by bending, stretching, and flexing the knee and leg at regular intervals. 

• Dirty clothing can result in skin infections for people who spend a lot of time on their knees so make sure that at least the knee areas of work trousers are kept as clean as possible. Constantly moving around on knees without the correct protection can cause friction which in turn can lead to skin abrasion from internal shear forces within the knee surface and therefore absorb dirt. These forces are extremely destructive and damaging to tissue and can lead to impaired blood flow, pain, tissue breakdown and pressure sores.

• Excess body weight is not surprisingly an added risk factor so maintaining a healthy weight is a good idea all round!

• If it is at all practical, move and change postures frequently – static postures decrease blood and nutrient flow to the tendons, ligaments, cartilage, and bursa.

• The key precaution to preventing knee and, often as a result, skeletal injury, is to choose the correct type of kneepad.

‘Redbacks’ non-foam/non-gel knee pads feature a soft and flexible TPE (Thermo Plastic Elastomer) leaf-spring set within a unique honeycomb matrix. This ‘Cushioning Technology’ distributes body weight evenly, elevating the knees to relieve back pain and reduce pressure on knee, leg, ankle and foot joints, whilst minimising the risk of possible injury from sharp or penetrating objects. In effect, the kneepads auto-adjust to the user’s weight and thereby to the amount of force applied, meaning that each kneepad becomes individual to its own user.