There are many popular fitness accessories that get marketed to the average gym goer. From lifting belts and gloves to wrist wraps and knee sleeves and while having all of those available to you isn’t necessarily bad, most people tend to wonder whether it’s all really needed.
Now, it’s hard to give a definitive answer as to what is needed and what isn’t, as that’s largely different for every individual and based on the needs of their own body. However, in this short article, we’re going to take a look at what difference knee sleeves can make for lifters and why you should maybe consider adding them to your gym bag.
What Do Knee Sleeves Do?
Knee sleeves are basically compression gear designed to help keep the knee joints safe and “warm” during exercise. They’re mainly used by heavy weightlifters and can help you feel more stable and secure, while squatting with heavy weights or attempting PRs. In most cases, knee sleeves are made out of neoprene and offer moderate compression, although it may feel like more, based on how challenging it is to put them on.
There two main kinds of knee sleeves offered on the market – 7mm ones and 9mm ones and the main differences between them are the level of support and compression they offer. The thinner ones are less restrictive and provide medium support and compression to the knee joint and also tend to feel more comfortable to wear for longer periods of time. The 9mm ones are the “big boys” that are thicker and offer a lot more compression and stability, however, they are a lot more difficult to put on and take off and get a bit too tight after wearing them constantly for more than 30 minutes.
Even though they can help knee sleeves aren’t some miracle that will automatically protect you from any possible injury – they’re just one more way to add comfort and stability to your workouts, but aren’t a replacement for warming up properly and ensuring you attempt to lift the kind of kilograms your body is actually capable of.
The Main Benefits of Knee Sleeves
Now that we’ve discussed what knee sleeves are and what their intended purpose is, let’s talk a bit about what benefits they offer and whether they can make a big difference in your training.
Potential Performance Boost
Wearing knee sleeves isn’t meant to be something you do to boost your lifting performance. As we’ve just mentioned, their main purpose is to provide compression and support, as a way to help prevent injuries. However many lifters tend to claim that knee sleeves do help them feel stronger when squatting heavier, along with feeling more comfortable and stable throughout the movement. Additionally, knee sleeves provide proprioceptive feedback (a better perception of the positioning of the knee), which allows trainees to better learn how their knees are moving during particular exercises.
When it comes to squatting, this simply means athletes can get a better understanding of how they’re moving through space and whether they’re reaching an appropriate depth on each repetition or not. It’s important to note that sleeve thickness does play a role here, as most athletes who see performance benefits from knee sleeves tend to wear 7mm ones.
Better Recovery Times
There’s some research suggesting that compression gear, like knee sleeves can actually help speed up recovery. A meta-analysis from 2017 took data from 23 studies on the impact of compression on recovery times in both trained and untrained subjects and came out with the conclusion that strength recovery was actually improved by such equipment. Of course, that’s considering the fact that the athlete continues to wear a form of knee sleeves, long after their workout has ended, which is why thinner knee sleeves are often recommended for people recovering from injuries.
Relief from Pain and Discomfort
Thanks to the fact that knee sleeves promote better blood flow and warm the area up, people who feel general pain or discomfort in the knee benefit from wearing them. That’s particularly true for athletes that have had any sort of knee surgeries or ligament issue in the area.
In Conclusion
Knee sleeves aren’t going to solve all your injury problems, nor are they a guaranteed way to keep your knees safe while lifting heavy. However, they’re a great way at providing support to the area, minimizing some of the risks associating with heavy squatting and helping you feel more stable throughout different movements. They tend to be most beneficial for people who suffer from any kind of nagging knee pain or who have had knee surgeries in the past, but they’re also a terrific accessory for anyone that feels like their knee joints are in dire need of some extra support and stability.
