Wearing a Knee Brace to Bed

People wear knee braces for many different reasons – a sports injury, bad posture, after surgery or for arthritis. Depending on why you have to wear a custom knee brace for knee support, you may have to wear it to bed, particularly after an operation to help strengthen the knee region. While it might not seem ideal to wear a knee brace to bed, there are reasons why it is essential, and comfort can be found with the right techniques.

Why you should wear a knee brace to bed

Speed of healing depends on how often you wear your knee brace, so wearing it overnight is essential to the healing process. There are two main reasons why you should wear knee support overnight, it alleviates pain and stabilises the joints.

When sleeping, you move around a lot which can be harmful to your injury, particularly if you have just had surgery. The knee brace will help stabilise the injury, just like it does when you are up and about. Also, moving around when sleeping can result in pain if you don’t support the knee, waking you up and causing you discomfort.

Sleeping with a knee brace

While we have determined that you will feel pain without sleeping with a knee brace, you are probably thinking about the discomfort you are going to feel when wearing it in bed. While we acknowledge that wearing a knee brace for ACL or other injuries when sleeping isn’t the most comfortable idea, it’s the most sensible and we have some tips to help you sleep a little better.

Tip 1

Think about your sleeping position. For the duration of your injury, it’s probably best to have the injured leg on the outside of the bed so you can easily pull off the blankets without disturbing your partner. This may also mean swapping sides of the bed with your partner temporarily until you are healed. 

Tip 2

Check all your straps etc… before hopping into bed. A loose brace may cause it to come off when you moving in your sleep.

Tip 3

Elevate your knee with a pillow, preferably below the brace for the best effect. This means you will likely need to sleep on your back. If you choose to try sleeping on your side, you may need to support your back with some additional pillows.

While out tips can help you rest a little easier when sleeping with a custom knee brace for added knee support, it’s essential that you first follow any recommendations given to you by your medical professional.

Need a more comfortable knee brace to sleep in? Check out our range at Sports Braces.