Patent ID: 8668661

Claim:
A knee brace, comprising: a base made of an elastic sheet material and wearable in snug covering relationship to the knee and adjacent portions of the upper leg and the lower leg of a person, the base having front, side and rear portions when the brace is worn, the base having an upper portion above the knee and a lower portion below the knee, whereby the upper portion of the base has a level of tension when the brace is worn; a mesh support layer made of an elastic mesh sheet material and having an upper portion that covers at least a part of the upper portion of the base and having a lower portion fixed to the lower portion of the base and extending below the knee when the brace is worn; wherein the upper portion of the mesh support layer is substantially separable from the upper portion of the base, whereby the upper portion of the mesh support layer has a level of tension that is adjustable substantially independently of the level of tension of the upper portion of the base when the brace is worn; and a below-knee support panel made of an inelastic sheet material fixed to the lower portion of the base, extending below the knee when the brace is worn, and covering at least a part of the lower portion of the base.