Knee braces vary by person and by injury. For more minor injuries, you may find you can stop using a brace within a couple of weeks. Some athletes recovering from more major injuries — like an ACL tear — may continue to wear a brace even after returning to action. And for people with conditions that cause chronic pain (such as osteoarthritis), they may wear a brace anytime they do certain physical activities. “With osteoarthritis, you tend to see people using it longer in their life and maybe using it for particular exercises where there’s more activity,” Dr. Nussbaum says. “So, they’ll stick with it if it’s working well. “Conversely, [with] the soft tissue structures like the ligaments and the meniscus, the ultimate goal for those injuries is for the brace to be discontinued. But not all injuries are the same.” Consulting with your doctors and physical therapy team about how long you should continue wearing a knee brace is important.