I have RSD in both knees and wear soft braces on both of them whenever I leave the house or am going to be standing for awhile. The support helps me, and actually a stronger pressure with compression does not aggravate the pain as light touch does. They also help keep down the swelling. After several hours with the braces on, though, they start to cause more pain. So it does come down to the lesser of two evils at some points. I agree that while they sometimes cause me more pain, when I have them on I don't feel my pants rubbing up against my knees causing lots of pain every time I move, which I can't stand. It's give and take. I've said before with the braces that it feels good to put them on and it feels good to take them off!