First of all none of this is to replace proper medical advice. If you have injured your knees/ankles go see your doctor. If you have an old injury and considering taking up running check with your doctor or physio first to make sure it's all good to go.
Ok right so you've done that and you have been given the all clear to run but your knees/ankles just feel like they need a little bit of extra help so what do you do?
First of all a bit about me - I have hyper extending knees, floating patellas and at some point and possibly still bits of cartilage floating around my knees, to sum up both knees are €$%*ed. I also have dodgy ankles and after seeing consultants and having tests and stuff it was concluded my ligaments don't support my joints properly, basically I have wonky joints. Oh yeah I also have clonking hips and suffer from hip bursitis. And this is on top of falling arches in my feet and other stuff 
I bet that's made you feel better already.
What does this all mean for you? I have used and tried LOTS of supports.
Ok first up RICE
There are some people who are unaware of what this means in first aid terms. It's simple, no we don't mean you should head to your local Chinese but rather:
R - rest
I - ice
C - compression
E - elevate
I hope that's all pretty self explanatory. But I am going to challenge the instruction to ice.
Ok new injury and swelling icing is your friend , this will reduce inflammation and pain. But here is the thing old injuries sometimes will benefit more from heat as it's a stiffening of the muscles, tendons and ligaments, heat will help to make them relax and therefore reduce pain. You need to experiment with what works for you.
There are also a number of tools to use for icing and heating.
Ice - ice packs is the obvious one can be as simple as a bag of frozen pea, or you can get gel filled packs which is my favourite. There are also freeze sprays and gels which are great for when strapping a bag of frozen peas to your leg isn't gonna work. My fave is a product called biofreeze gel.
Heat - microwave heat packs are great (even better I make my own), there are also those air activating patches (the theramed ones are good) and then things like deep heat spray and gel.
Ok so you've done all that but that's not going to support while out running.
Support options:
Tubigrip - good old fashioned compression bandage, you wear this doubled up over the affected area. You need to measure to get the right fit so refer to the packet. This stuff is brilliant and economical. Downside for me personally is I have chunky thighs and this would sometimes cause the bandage to roll down and be uncomfortable.
Great for knees, ankles, wrists and elbows.
Adjustable supports - now these obviously target specific areas. Really great because you can control the amount of support that you want as well as get the for that you need. Now for ankles I've had no problem with adjustable supports other than they can be a bit balky in shoes. However for my knees I found them a little too restrictive and and baulky behind my knees because of the adjustable straps.
Fixed size supports - obviously again for specific areas. You do need to carefully refer to the packet for sizing as different options need you to measure different areas for fit. Really great just pull on and go, no having to worry about straps, not as baulky as adjustable supports. Downsides for my again the chunky thighs lead to fit issued and they can slip about. Depending on how they were constructed the seams can rub (look for flat seams).
Now with knee supports you will notice they come with or without a hole to stabilise your patella. Now this is great if your patellas sit where they are meant to, but for me they aggregate and hurt, so it maybe worth while asking a specialist for advice.
If patella stability is your main issue you can also get knee straps. I have never used these so can't comment.
In terms of material I'd always look for a neoprene support, pricey but an investment. The idea of the neoprene is that it retains heat and elasticity, helping to aid recovery and reduce pain.
With all supports they should never be worn in bed.
Now there is another option to the traditional support, you can tape your injuries.
I only discovered tapping a few years ago and I now prefer it to supports.
First up traditional sports strapping such as strappal. This is really good and will stabilise an area, but does not really allow for much joint flexibility. I found it very restrictive. Great while I was resting but not so great when I was upping exercise. Also not water proof. You can teach yourself to apply it using YouTube etc but it's probably best to be taught by a physio.
Now onto my favourite kinesio or kinesiology tape. I love this stuff. It was recommend to me by a friend who suffers from EDS (a hypermobility syndrome) and regularly dislocates and partial dislocates. Now it's can been seen as a trendy sports tape and didn't really get noticed until the 2012 Olympics but it's actually been around since the 70s. It was developed in Japan. It is claimed that it will strenghten your performance and increase blood flow etc, I don't know if it does but I do know that it does support while allowing free range of movement. Also top sports people and their physios swear by it so if it's good enough for them. You can learn how to apply it yourself via YouTube and websites such as kttape.com and once you get used to how it supports you can create your own applications to help where you need support. Even better it's waterproof so one application can last up to a week (depending on the tape).
It's great for ankles, knees, shin splints, archilles, back, hip, IT band, shoulders, wrists in fact pretty much if it hurts there is a taping application for it, oh and it comes in a range of funky colours
Hmmm! Finishing week 7 [UPDATED]
Knee pain disappointment 🙁
W8R2 Ankle better 😃 don’t want to get left behind 😆
At last... A diagnosis :)
Cautionary tale, not preaching just sharing...
