Knee braces for Osgood Schlatter Disease

Almost everyone who experiences knee pain has considered using a supportive brace or compression sleeve to help alleviate their symptoms. If you visit your local Walgreens or Boots there are often rows of orthopaedic supports for the knees.

So the question of course is do they actually help with Osgood Schlatter?

Knee brace benefits for Osgood

Braces can be pretty good at helping calm down your sensation of pain in the knee, as well as provide a feeling of confidence and support.

Many people experience a pleasant tactile sensation when using a knee brace or sleeve that can help reduce pain acutely while they recover from Osgood Schlatters. While braces don’t really do anything specific to help with the causes of Osgood Schlatter pain they can feel nice.

It is not really clear why knee braces have this pain reducing impact. Quite possibly the effect is a placebo, but placebos are actually powerful and can be extremely effective in treating pain.

A benefit of knee sleeves and pads (rather than braces) is their ability to provide protection for the sensitive area of the knee in knocks and bumps. If you have a pronounced “Osgood lump” below the knee cap it can often feel like a magnet for running into things! Having the layer of padding around the knee is a great idea, especially when playing sport.

Knee brace downsides for Osgood

Unfortunately many people mis-use knee braces and sleeves when they have Osgood Schlatter Disease.

Using a knee brace or compression sleeve cover up the pain will likely make your Osgood Schlatters worse. Trying to hide or mask your pain can absolutely slow the recovery and even make your knee pain worse in the long run.

What is really important for treating Osgood is tackling the root cause of your knee pain. This is done by gaining back the strength and mobility needed to support the knee while learning good movement mechanics so you can be truly pain-free in the long-term. Many people use a brace as a way of trying to ignore their pain, but inevitably without making bigger changes to your strength, mobility, and tendon health, the pain will come back worse than ever.

A better approach is to use a knee brace, sleeve, or strap for occasional comfort and support, while also making sure to address the root cause by following sensible training plan like our online seven week Osgood Schlatters treatment program.

Can you use knee braces while treating Osgood?

If you are following a plan to treat Osgood Schlatters, is it bad to use a knee brace or sleeve?

It depends how much you rely on the brace or sleeve. The goal in a sensible treatment program is to gradually build your strength and function while managing the load through the knee. Part of this plan requires you to pay attention to your knee pain as an indicator of progression. Any significant increase in pain is a good indicator that you may be rushing through the steps required to treat Osgood Schlatter.

During our treatment program we recommend people use a sleeve or brace if it aids with confidence while gradually increasing their sports load. In fact our program does not require you to stop playing sport, so a sleeve or knee pads can be helpful while pain is still present and to help minimise the risk of hard knocks but should generally be used only in this context.

We seem to find that knee pads and sleeves are better than braces (and tape). Our favourite knee sleeve/pad product that can be bought on Amazon at this link.

If you have not had luck with padding and would like to try the brace option, this is our favourite product in that space.

Some people find that using a knee brace or sleeve has no real impact on their sensation of pain or comfort, in which case there is really no need for it!