Can you wear a knee sleeve every day?

Posted by cindymattern @cindymattern, Aug 28, 2023

At 11 months I still have soreness and stiffness to where in the mid afternoon my leg/knee really bothers me. However if I wear my knee sleeve I can function like I did prior to surgery. I have no pain, can walk and stand without any issue. My muscles feel great. I am in PT again for strengthening but can I wear this every day. I don't wear it to bed and when It take it off around 6 in the evening my knee/leg area is sore and stiff. I am thinking the extra support helps. Dr. again says the knee looks good and the X-ray shows no fluid or abnormalities.

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Thank you for your response. It sounds like you’re on track for a good outcome.
For me, the sleeve doesn’t prevent the foot from turning in to the point where I’m tripping over it. I’m going to ask the surgeon if (maybe) a leg brace may help train the leg to straighten.
Again, I wish you continued success.✌🏻

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@suzlieb

Thank you for your response. It sounds like you’re on track for a good outcome.
For me, the sleeve doesn’t prevent the foot from turning in to the point where I’m tripping over it. I’m going to ask the surgeon if (maybe) a leg brace may help train the leg to straighten.
Again, I wish you continued success.✌🏻

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Have you tried different shoes? Since my replacement I went from a women's size 11 regular to a men's 9.5 extra wide. The shoes were apparently tight and they were making my feet tingle and I wasn't walking right because they weren't supportive enough even though they were good shoes. I went from Brooks to a New Balance shoe and I'm not having anymore issues with the feet and they also hold my foot over so it doesn't turn in or roll over like it was. I opted not to do the insert they suggested because it made the shoe too tight for me on the top.

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Thanks Cindy. I don't see any harm from wearing the sleeve. Indeed, seems like it is helping a lot.

What I don't understand is why some people have this swelling/pain long after the TKR. Standard advice is to expect up to a one year recovery, but at 11 mos, I would expect swelling/pain to be gone.

I have a friend, very athletic guy, 64 y/o, who is still struggling with daily swelling/pain 3 mos after surgery. His quads also atrophied after the TKR. I mean his leg looks like a toothpick with an olive in the middle (ok I'm exaggerating a bit).

I exercised for almost a year before my TKRs. I'm a 68 y/o male, and did the post op rehab 3x day. I was fine at 2 months for each TKR. I am in the gym 6 days a week.

I guess I don't understand the variability in outcomes for this procedure. Does anyone have any answers or guesses as to why some struggle so much? Thanks all!

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I would say it should be no reason why you cannot wear the knee sleeve. It's probably best to double check with your physical therapist and/or your surgeon.

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@jazzy155

I would say it should be no reason why you cannot wear the knee sleeve. It's probably best to double check with your physical therapist and/or your surgeon.

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Already have and as long as it does not impede any movement or anything I'm good to go. It's not something I want to wear though forever and want to eliminate as soon as I can but it feels so good when I wear it.

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@heyjoe415

Thanks Cindy. I don't see any harm from wearing the sleeve. Indeed, seems like it is helping a lot.

What I don't understand is why some people have this swelling/pain long after the TKR. Standard advice is to expect up to a one year recovery, but at 11 mos, I would expect swelling/pain to be gone.

I have a friend, very athletic guy, 64 y/o, who is still struggling with daily swelling/pain 3 mos after surgery. His quads also atrophied after the TKR. I mean his leg looks like a toothpick with an olive in the middle (ok I'm exaggerating a bit).

I exercised for almost a year before my TKRs. I'm a 68 y/o male, and did the post op rehab 3x day. I was fine at 2 months for each TKR. I am in the gym 6 days a week.

I guess I don't understand the variability in outcomes for this procedure. Does anyone have any answers or guesses as to why some struggle so much? Thanks all!

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Agree....I know some who just kinda of breezed right through. I had lots of arthritis when they did it and I'm 61. I only exercised about 2 months prior and did it on my own. I know there is still swelling and inflammation because I've only worn the knee sleeve for two days and both nights I am up every few hours to the bathroom and not just a little. I think it's from wearing it all day and the fluid from the inflammation is going back up toward my heart and it has to go someplace. Had that problem around 2 months or so as the swelling went down. We would actually sit in PT and talk about it lol....

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So my sleeve helps me so much but as Cindy indicated, I feel it's quite sore when I take it off. Still seems like a good tradeoff. My Dr. told me it was fine to wear whenever. I notice in the first post there was a mention of the x-ray showing no structural problem and no fluid. I have been trying to get information because I have this fluid like lump on my near, near the incision but not directly on it that developed at about six months and is still there with no signs of abating after seven and a half. I saw the doctor and he said they don't like to inject a needle into a replacement knee, but it causes pain and aside from ice, elevation, and rest, does anyone know anything to do about this. I feel like if it weren't for that, I'd be doing SO well. Advice would be appreciated.

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@shawndm

So my sleeve helps me so much but as Cindy indicated, I feel it's quite sore when I take it off. Still seems like a good tradeoff. My Dr. told me it was fine to wear whenever. I notice in the first post there was a mention of the x-ray showing no structural problem and no fluid. I have been trying to get information because I have this fluid like lump on my near, near the incision but not directly on it that developed at about six months and is still there with no signs of abating after seven and a half. I saw the doctor and he said they don't like to inject a needle into a replacement knee, but it causes pain and aside from ice, elevation, and rest, does anyone know anything to do about this. I feel like if it weren't for that, I'd be doing SO well. Advice would be appreciated.

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My Dr, injected mine at 11.1 months and I don't feel like it really did anything. PT can try and massage it (it hurts) and get it to go down or maybe anti-inflammatory meds....They usually don't like to to injections until after 12 months from what I heard because there is always the risk of infection. I was told no anti-inflammatory stuff until at least 4 months because they can mess with the healing process. I'm just tired of being sore and stiff without this sleeve on. If that stopped I'd be great. I'm mowing grass and doing everything I did before surgery except getting off the floor as that is really hard and hurts. See if you can go back to PT for that fluid pocket because mine does myofascial release as well as scraping which moves inflammation and things like that away from the knee up the leg. Of course my surgeon said the same thing...xray looks good, knee movement is good, no structural issues just soreness and stiffness and it hurts sometimes. I think it's mostly muscle and scar tissue maybe.

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Thanks for the response. I'll see about returning to PT. It's nice to know I'm not alone in this although it is annoying as anything. May I ask, what does scraping involve??

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They have these metal things and they put an emollient on your leg and then use the scraper to basically apply pressure and slowly go over all the areas where they might see fluid/inflammation. I have a pocket that looks like fluid on the inside of my right knee just a tad down. on the side. It's a rather large pocket of fluid or tissue and they used the metal thing that looks kinda like a knife and applied pressure and pushed it all around to try and move out the fluid. It's a process and I only go every 2 weeks so I'm trying to do it at home as well with my fingers.

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