Knee Braces?

[04whyzee]

Who wears them, what kind do you wear, do you have any previous knee injurys, and do you feel they have prevents you from getting injured? I want everyone to chime in on this thread whether you wear knee braces or not. Now that I have blown my knee I am looking very seriously at the different types of protection available. So post up everybody and tell us about your braces.


Could a mod fix the poll for me? I messed up and hit post before I was done. Please add Asteriks and No as options to the poll. Thanks a lot.

[hondageek]

if you're insurance will cover them get the CTi2s, period. If you don't have ins. get the Asterisk braces(same company as CTi). The EVS aren't even in the same league as the CTi products. I have had a pretty good knee injury and the only time my knee feels good is when I'm on my bike. I won't even ride my 50 without them.

[TixiLix]

where is the no, i dont wear knee brace option?

[Spitfire]

Originally posted by TixiLix
where is the no, i dont wear knee brace option?

haha same here.........

[psyklone393]

i also think we need a category for:

i don't wear them now, but plan to buy a pair within the next few months.

i'm in that category.

-Z

[Mitch_CRF_250]

I don't curently wear braces either. However, for the last couple of months i've been thinking that i need to get some.

Do you tell the insurance company that you have bad knees or what? Surely you don't tell them that you race mx!!! They won't just give them to you will they?

[TixiLix]

i hit mud fast and i hit my knee on hangers. pain. i just layed there for like 2 minutes. than i decided to walk it off. i have very bad knees. they feel like a bruise continously. if knee braces didnt cost so much, i would buy one for sure.

[psyklone393]

Originally posted by Mitch_CRF_250
Do you tell the insurance company that you have bad knees or what? Surely you don't tell them that you race mx!!! They won't just give them to you will they?

mitch, whatever you do ... don't do that. mentioning 'motocross' and 'knee braces' would probably not get them approved.

[K-4]

I started wearing them only after $3000.00 spent in a hospital that a knee brace would have prevented.. Also If my big *** feet miss the footpeg when landing a big jump, my knee won't and I know my knee brace has saved me some pain

I won't ride without them anymore I use thor, but i plan on getting some better ones soon.

[Faded]

NO I don't wear them...

YES I've sustained major knee injuries. Left knee was minor; torn meniscus and a loose body about the size of a quarter. Loose body was removed, what was left of the torn tissue was repaired.

Right knee is a different story. PLC torn in half, MCL torn in half and meniscus tissue removed from bone. PLC was replaced with a graft taken from my left hamstring requiring eight pins to secure it. MCL was allowed to heal but never made it. It was removed and replaced with someone else’s. Meniscus was re-attached. Projected chance of recovery = 60%. I ended up recovering 98% strength and 95% range of motion.

I’ve spoken to all the doctors and therapists involved in both surgeries and believe it or not they advised not to wear knee braces. Their reasoning being that your knees will eventually come to rely on the braces and not be as strong. They also said that it’s up to me and if I decide to do it they will do what they can on their end to make it happen. I’ve decided to work on strengthening my knees rather than brace them.

[04whyzee]

If i get knee braces I will only wear them when I ride and not any other time. How could your knees get used to them and become weak if they are only on for maybe 4 hours out of a hundred or so that they aren't during the week? I could see if you wore braces everyday then you could be come dependent. After my next appointment with the doctor I will ask him if it is ok for me to start working out me knee. He told me previously not to try to work it out before I have the surgery because it may heal on its own and not heal properly before the surgery. Anywho back to the original subject of knee braces and knee streghth. I plan to get myself into 100% better shape than I am now before I even think about riding again. Now I just have a good excuse to get in shape.

[Faded]

Originally posted by 04whyzee
If i get knee braces I will only wear them when I ride and not any other time. How could your knees get used to them and become weak if they are only on for maybe 4 hours out of a hundred or so that they aren't during the week? I could see if you wore braces everyday then you could be come dependent.

How hard are your knees working when you're sitting around for those hundred hours compared to how hard they work the 4hrs you spend on your bike...

[Yardpro393]

i am really happy with the asterisks

[KX250]

i dont have any braces

[04whyzee]

Originally posted by Faded
How hard are your knees working when you're sitting around for those hundred hours compared to how hard they work the 4hrs you spend on your bike...

While I agree with you Faded you have to understand my position. I'm on my feet 50 hours a week at my job; bending, stooping, lifting heavy objects, drilling, wrenching, mounting tires, etc. Plus I'm soon to start a complete workout program with intense focus on stregthening my legs and knees. For those of you that are lucky enough to have a job where you get to sit at a desk all day knee braces may not be an option but mine are constantly getting used. I'm getting a second opinion next monday from a different doctor and we'll see what he has to say about knee braces. I am with most everyone in thinking that if there is a 10% chance that they will prevent a debilitating injury such as the one I suffer from they are worth every penny. Cheers.

[Woody_393]

I don't have any, but I'd sure like to get some for preventative measures. I've also fixed the poll.

[Yardpro393]

faded

the doctors were refering to not wearing them for excercise, etc. I never wear mine except for riding. I workout, and run without them, and am a landscaper, so i have a very physical job.
I do agree that wearing them too much can weaken the knee though.

I do not look at them as support, but rather as protection.

[Frakke]

For the moment I only wear knee pads! They already saved my knee from some wooden pickets alongside the track. If I ever get the change to buy kneebraces a bit cheaper (through medical assurance) I'll do it immediately! A lot of riders here are wearing them!

[pragmatic393]

Remember that the knee is simply a joint with ligaments for protection. We cannot strengthen the joint or the ligaments. We can only strengthen the muscles so the ligaments can survive. Is this sufficient in our sport?

The forces that a knee joint sees during most sports like football, basketball, tennis etc. are much higher than what the ligaments can withstand, so the muscles will normally take over and prevent damage (BTW, there are new methods of rehab that are now being implemented on the details of how and when to use your muscles during potential damaging movements). These would be very predictable movements, like in football, tennis and basketball, right? Well, Most doc’s are accustomed to seeing the “common” sports injuries and give advice on how to prevent injury, and they usually have some study to base this advice on. As we know, most knee injury studies center on the common sports.

Now, lets look at the differences in the applied force; In football, usually the persons own weight shifting or twisting or another persons T-Bone-tackle, cause the injury. Same as with basketball, Rugby and tennis. I agree, serious forces indeed. Now, compare that to the force that our knees are exposed to with the speeds and heights we attain (some more than others as we’ve seen with the “how far you can jump thread” WOW). There is no way in hell our ligaments or muscles alone could withstand this type of force, and in some cases not even a good knee brace. Look at the type and the number of neck injuries we see. I would guess, the closest common sport to the type of knee smashing force we are exposed to is snow skiing (the extreme stuff) and I would be more inclined to take the “preventative” advice of an OS that specializes in snow skiing knee injuries.

My point is, you will not find a thorough knee injury study based strictly on MX and I don’t think most doc’s are aware of what type of force we are exposed to. With no data to back them, I think they are giving the standard sports injury advice. Maybe my opinion, but I think its common sense that a good knee brace is our best preventative measure for knee injury.

[nappers]

I've been wearing my Asterisks for about 3 or 4 weeks now. That's not a lot considering I've only been doing some fiddy riding (my knee is still healing and I have not been to the track with my KX since the injury). They are very comfortable, and I can definitely feel the extra support. I wouldn't ride without them. It also gives me a sense of security. My knee is doing better, but is definitely not healed. It's probably at 75-80%, but I cannot stop riding completely. I must at least hop on the fiddy. I am awaiting rehab approval from my insurance.