Single Piece Sleeve Braces

About

Sleeve braces are the simplest and least expensive type of knee brace. The brace is pulled over the foot and placed over the knee. It provides compression, warmth and support for mild to moderate symptoms of osteoarthritis, and is best suited to generalised knee OA (where two or more knee compartments are affected) or where the pain is not specific to a defined point or compartment.

The warmth and compression from sleeve knee braces give reduce the dull, chronic pain often felt in the arthritic knee, much like heat and / or compression therapy does.

Osteoarthritis can make you feel as if your knee is about to give-way. As a result, you might automatically guard your knee and avoid putting weight on it. A knee brace can also offer some stability and increase your confidence in your knee.

The combination of reduced pain, inflammation and increased confidence can make a person more likely to do strength exercises, get out and exercise, or simply move more, all of which are important in the treatment of knee OA.

Be Aware

You should be careful to think of your knee brace as an enabling piece of technology to help you increase your activity levels, strength and fitness.

It is important that the benefits a brace delivers, such as warmth, security and stability, are not seen as an end within themselves. Regarding the brace as the solution for your knee OA can result in a patient doing less exercise and taking less care of themselves. This results in a very short-term, unsatisfactory solution and further deterioration of the knee’s condition.