Neoprene Knee Sleeves; Thermal Compression and Enhanced Proprioception in Knee Pain Prevention
Does your brain know where your knees are? If it does, you can thank proprioception. Proprioception (PRO‐pree‐ o‐SEP‐shen) is defined as the awareness of the position of one’s body. Neoprene knee sleeves are widely used to increase proprioception at the knee and help prevent injury because they are lightweight, flexible, durable, and tend to stay put during activities. Use of a thicker neoprene sleeve can aid in preventing extreme range of motion at the knee during activities that would normally have the knee in a high degree of flexion or extension. A neoprene knee sleeve that has a snug fit and a mechanism to prevent slippage could improve balance and help decrease pain.
The brain constantly receives information about the position, location, orientation, and movement of the body via sensory nerves. When a knee support sleeve is in contact with the skin around the knee, the muscle fibers in that area are stimulated to tighten. Tightened muscles around a joint reduce the likelihood of injury when the knee is physically stressed1.
Physical stress on the knee can have many causes. For example, moving into extreme ranges of motion when squatting to lift weights can cause physical stress to the joint. Running or walking on uneven ground can cause the knee to twist or tilt quickly and with force, which also can cause physical stress to the joint. Other physical stressors to the knee joint can occur when high force is applied (jumping or the repetitive stress in aerobics).
There are many reasons to wear a knee support during activities. Consider two common knee issues, Osteoarthritis (OA) and Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) repair or injury as they are emblematic of many knee issues that keep people from fully engaging in activities or sports.
If you already have knee damage, for example osteoarthritis (OA), your balance and knee proprioception can be negatively affected during activity2. Balance control during daily activity is dependent on proprioception. Some studies have shown that OA at the knee may result in the deterioration of balance control. Studies have also demonstrated that people with knee OA that wear neoprene knee sleeves regularly have better balance control. For example, in one study, subjects with knee OA were asked to maintain their balance on a shifting tilt table with and without wearing a neoprene knee sleeve. In this test, loss of balance was scored. The further the subject had to move from center before regaining stability, the higher their score and the worse their balance control. Subjects were shown to have better balance (i.e. a lower score) when wearing a neoprene knee sleeve than without
Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury/Repair
Recent research on recovery after ACL repair suggests that even when ligaments themselves are repaired to pre‐ injury function, the nerves that provide proprioceptive feedback to the brain may not recover or may be missing, depending on the surgery type3. ACL damage can result in decreased proprioception due to the nerve fibers in the ligament being damaged. After reconstruction of the ligament, the nerves are not necessarily retained or repaired, thus the feedback on knee position could be lacking. Because the ACL helps control extreme flexion, re‐ injury is most likely at end ranges of flexion, for example, during deep knee bends or dead lifts in weight lifting. Wearing a thicker neoprene knee sleeve during activities could provide protective warmth, compression, and extra protection from maximum knee flexion.
Neoprene supports, exercise, physical therapy, heat or cold applied to the painful joint are just some of the many ways to relieve pain and prevent re‐injury4. Thermal compression is the term used for a support that keeps the joint warm while providing circumferential pressure to prevent swelling. Keeping a joint warm without excessive swelling during exercise can reduce pain both during and after the exercise. Of course, any knee support needs to fit well and not migrate down during exercise in order to provide support, warmth, and compression to the entire knee. As with any injury, it’s imperative to be seen by a doctor in order to get a specific diagnosis and plan of care before trying any treatment.