Understand Knee Wraps and Knee Sleeves
How to determine the best support tool for your knees
So, what’s the deal with knee wraps and knee sleeves? Do they make you stronger, prevent injuries, or just look really cool? Here are a few answers.
Knee wraps are flexible elastic bandages. Competitive powerlifters prefer knee wraps because they increase knee stability, and their elastic qualities enable them to lift more weight. How you place in a powerlifting competition is determined by how much you lift. Also, many powerlifters believe knee wraps decrease the stress on the quadriceps tendon, making them less likely to tear a quadriceps during a max squat.
Knee sleeves are usually made of neoprene, the same flexible material used in diving suits. Neoprene helps keep the knees warm and provides a slight compression that increases knee stability (but not as much as a knee brace). For rehab, knee sleeves decrease swelling and may help reduce pain. However, the elastic material is usually not strong enough to significantly increase how much you can lift, particularly when compared to knee wraps. (TSS)
BOTTOM LINE: Understand the difference between knee wraps and knee sleeves to get the most out of training.
— Photo by Viviana Podhaiski, LiftingLife.com
