Knee braces any feedback

[Snowy 76]

Yes I know it`s been done before, after feed back, in the market for knee braces. Looking at Fox MX pod and Asterisk brands, there sort of in the $700.00 price range for a pair, i know you get what you pay for but i Cant afford top of the line $1000 each jobies. Any feedback would be Great. Thanks Mark.

[Wombat]

Snowy I can only speak for my own set of CTi braces; they're brilliant, they fit well and they feel strong.
But yeah, they're in the top price bracket.
I understand former Mr. Motocross Stephen Gall played a very large part in their design.
I went for the 'best of' because I've had five knee ops covering both knees. This includes both knees being reconstructed.

For each knee (and both buggered up a few years apart) I went through months of pre op physio and gym work in the hope of making them better.
Each operation was followed by several more months of post op physio and gym work and swimming etc.
They never really came good and a lifetime of leg muscle atrophies away in no time at all.
My legs lost more than 50% quad and hamstring muscle following surgery and post op healing while getting around on crutches wearing those huge splints.

F*cked up knees can change your life. I left the Army on a medical discharge as a direct result of my knee problems.
I reckon knee braces are up there with helmets for quality purposes; and worth saving for if you don't have the readies.

[NR555]

You can get Asterisks from the USA for under $700 a set.  There are measuring templates available for them online.  Once you have the correct size, you can tune the fit with the supplied pads to suit your knees when you set them up.  I'd allow a good hour or so to set them up properly at home (don't take a new set to the track and expect to just slip them on!).  The process would be:

- work out what inner pads to use to get the correct fit (firm but comfortable)
- tighten up the laces at the back to adjust the fit on your leg
- trim laces (better to burn the ends as the supplied clips to stop fraying just fall off)
- use supplied allen key to adjust the fit on upper and lower leg (where it clamps on the top & bottom)
- use allen key to adjust range of movement (hyperextension restriction)

Once you're up & running, you'll find that every few rides you'll have to tighten things up a bit as they do slacken off.  I just keep the tool in my gearbag and give the braces a quick tweak now & again. 

I have a pair and they are great.  They are holding up well.  I've heard good things about the PodMX brace, but they don't offer your knee much impact protection aside from the patella cup.  The Asterisks have multiple shells that slide underneath each other so no part of the joint is exposed.  The downside is that the Asterisks are a bit more bulky than the Pods (but you get used to that).

[Mick22]

Not sure what has been said in the passed on Knee braces on here but this is my 2 cents worth...

A couple of years back I hyper extended my knee and damaged everything except the skin, broken femur, tib, fib, torn ligaments, crushed femural arterie the lot. When it was finally coming good about a year later I was more than a bit worried about doing it again and was all set to buy a couple of CTI braces. I started asking around about knee braces the overwhelming response from the 3 Orthapedic surgeons I was dealing with was that I would have been in a worse state if I did have a brace on. This wasn't what I wanted to hear so I also got on to a proffessor of Orthapedics at Melbourne Uni, he said he did not recommended them unless there was a serious pre existing condition in the knee where the joint was "loose". He said that the force required to brake a healty knee is quite large and that by putting a brace on you a merely moving the force elsewhere, into the femur and he suggested that you are better off facing a knee reconstruction than a compound femur brake. The other thing he said was that the brace would have little effect in stopping minor tweaks as even the best braces could not hold the leg firmly enough to prevent them.

I know there are differing opinions on knee braces but my only advice would be if you want an opinion on a knee brace, wheather to get them or which brand to buy speak to someone unbiased with knowledge on the subject, an orthapedic surgeon. Take any info from GP's, ex mx stars, and other brace owners with a grain of salt..... buying a knee brace thru the mx industry makes about as much sense as going to the hospital for a spark plug

[Wombat]

I would have been in a worse state if I did have a brace on...a proffessor of Orthapedics...did not recommended them unless there was a serious pre existing condition...the brace would have little effect in stopping minor tweaks...

Mick, those Surgeons opinions are very interesting and we must respect their qualifications.
However, I've heard similar criticism of vehicle seat belts and airbags when it comes to injuries.
Serious damage/death has and does occur as a direct result of associated trauma with these 'safety devices'.

You'd be hard pressed to find a Surgeon in favour of motorcycles at all given the injuries they repair on a daily basis.
You can't allow for every situation/collision. No matter how good your helmet or neck brace might be, there will be situations where it's just not up to the job.
I'm not saying the Surgeons are wrong and I mean no disrespect to you, but to do without knee protection makes no sense to me.

[Gerard De Ruyter (Twistandshout)]

Yeah, Mark, I heard both sides of this one too when I went looking for something (on very limited budget).  I ended up making a successful bid on some off the shelf Fox knee braces which are a bit of an old design in that its made up of that stretch fabric that scuba divers use as a tight stretchable sleeve over knee, with hinged aluminium struts on both sides of knee which are held in place by four velcro straps.  suspect they're not half as snug and firm as later design, but i'm hoping to have a bob each way - some give so don't risk snapping femur, but limits extension if it happens.

and best of all, the bite was like fifty bucks (second hand)!

[NR555]

Not sure what has been said in the passed on Knee braces on here but this is my 2 cents worth...

A couple of years back I hyper extended my knee and damaged everything except the skin, broken femur, tib, fib, torn ligaments, crushed femural arterie the lot. When it was finally coming good about a year later I was more than a bit worried about doing it again and was all set to buy a couple of CTI braces. I started asking around about knee braces the overwhelming response from the 3 Orthapedic surgeons I was dealing with was that I would have been in a worse state if I did have a brace on. This wasn't what I wanted to hear so I also got on to a proffessor of Orthapedics at Melbourne Uni, he said he did not recommended them unless there was a serious pre existing condition in the knee where the joint was "loose". He said that the force required to brake a healty knee is quite large and that by putting a brace on you a merely moving the force elsewhere, into the femur and he suggested that you are better off facing a knee reconstruction than a compound femur brake. The other thing he said was that the brace would have little effect in stopping minor tweaks as even the best braces could not hold the leg firmly enough to prevent them.

I know there are differing opinions on knee braces but my only advice would be if you want an opinion on a knee brace, wheather to get them or which brand to buy speak to someone unbiased with knowledge on the subject, an orthapedic surgeon. Take any info from GP's, ex mx stars, and other brace owners with a grain of salt..... buying a knee brace thru the mx industry makes about as much sense as going to the hospital for a spark plug

Are those surgeons familiar with the sport and the forces involved? 

I definitely hear what you're saying though.  AMA racer Kevin Windham doesn't wear knee braces for that reason.  Steve from Cisco's Race Tuning here in Melb did the same thing on his old Bultaco at a VIPER meeting about 10 years ago also.  Snapped right above (or below - can't remember) the brace. 

It's a personal preference thing.  I definitely believe knee braces are more of a help, especially in 'twisting' type scenarios.  If your leg gets solidly locked however, then I can see how a brace could contribute to a leg break.

[VMX247]

podmx $499 for one, local shop. 

[vmx42]

Hi Guys,
right up front. I can't ride without my knee brace. Simple as that. I would be on the side of the track/trail after a few minutes with a dislocated knee. Its either a brace or don't ride.

As for the concerns of your orthopaedic surgeon I am sure they are valid in isolation but when you look at the total number of risks you face when riding your motorcycle then I don't believe he is fully informed. Specialists are notorious for having a blinkered view of things just outside their area of speciality - I deal with them on many levels and I am constantly gobsmacked at their ignorance in other areas. Don't get me wrong, they do a great job, but their opinions are often based on very narrow areas of knowledge.

It all comes down to a risk/benefit ratio. Helmets potentially [due to their mass and also the number of things that protrude from their surface] can contribute to certain types of injuries, but it is universally accepted that their risk/benefit ratio proves that they are beneficial in the VAST MAJORITY of situations. As Mick22 said, seat belts and airbags have had injuries [and deaths] attributed to them but if you examine the risk/benefit ratio then the benefit greatly outweighs the risk. You use a toaster, but people have died using them - does that stop you making your toast in the morning? You could go on and on…

As for knee braces I think it is a bit cinical to say that just because these devices originated in the Motocross industry that the people who developed them, or used them are misleading you. The braces have saved countless knee injuries [and contributed to some other broken bones] nobody denies that, but they have also allowed many people to continue to participate in the sport [myself incuded] who would otherwise be unable to because of a knee trauma. It is up to you to weigh up the risk vs. benefit and make your own decision.

But, based on my medical knowledge, if I had a choice I would prefer to have a broken leg than a knee reconstruction [the compound fracture bit is a possibility, not a fact - though it is very scary]. A well mended bone is as good as new, a reconstructed knee is a knee on borrowed time, just waiting for the next trauma. And I can assure you that you don't need to be racing your motorcycle to suffer another knee trauma - simple things like kneeling down, walking on uneven ground or turning suddenly is all it takes. And then there is the FACT that you are going suffer arthritis and the FACT that you are going to need a replacement knee in later life.

So like all these things, listen to as many points of view as possible and make up your own mind, but be aware there is no 100% correct answer to your question. Good luck!!

Should we now talk about Leatt Neck Braces…?
VMX42

[Rossvickicampbell]

probably a stupid comment (as times do change) and I am pepared to be hung for it but I am sitting here looking at a wallpaper of Bob Hannah trying to pass Jimmy Weinert on the outside both WFO (awesome photo by the way).  How many guys in those days used the sort of protection we are talking about?  Not saying times dont change and improve but surely the risks were as prevalent then as now and they didn't have neck braces, knee braces etc etc etc.  And yes I am aware of Danny Magoo's injury but just have to wodner how much they all help.  I dont have a neck brace but do have a pair of Thor Force knee braces.

I just wonder - but then I have come to accept that a helmet is a no brainer.

Rossco

[Colin Jay]

I sympathise with you Wombat, although I was classed as medically fit when I discharged from the navy in 2003, Vetrans Affairs were, and still are, paying me a pension for "lower Limb" disabilities due too service related injuries to both my knees.  I have only gotten back into competition riding (reliability trials, pre '88 class) again this year, and have been taking thing very easy for fear of exactly what you have described.

CJ

[Wombat]

...surely the risks were as prevalent then as now and they didn't have neck braces, knee braces etc etc etc. 

Yep, we all raced like that. I felt safe with that hard plastic cup zipped into the knees of my leathers.
But with the passage of time and the benefit of some post operative wisdom, I wouldn't hop on the bike for some serious laps without my knee braces.
I love the old period/retro gear but I accept I can't fit the knee braces inside the old AlpineStars; so modern boots are a compromise.
I also prefer the look of the old 70s shoulder pads to my 661 pressure suit, but the 661 has the added bonus of the 'lobster back' spine protection - and I wear it under the jersey so as to reduce the 'modernism'.
Not everyone wore the shoulder pads back in the day although it was available, but some of these inventions have been around in various forms for years. Evolution is what's happened.

It's a good topic and the opinions are varied - I love this forum.

[husky61]

Snowy

Contact Stephen Gall at Gall medical.

I got my custom fitted braces after my recent knee recon.

They fit perfect , very slim and you hardly notice them , yet they provide great support and most importantly protection.

PM me , and i will give you the details on cost etc.

MHO, best product on the market

Shoey

[maicopunk]

If you've got some free time, check out this thread on KTMTalk.com...   http://ktmtalk.com/index.php?showtopic=148181&hl=knee+brace ... A couple of the posters are dirt bike riding orthopedic surgeons and they talk a lot of sense.

Personally I wear a pair of these but with a patella cup


and don't feel safe without them.  Like most people I only got them after wrecking my knee and they probably wouldn't have stopped my injury. But I can ride all weekend with them on and my knees feel pretty good afterwards.

[Wombat]

Hey maicopunk, the link wouldn't allow me to view the page. I then went to the home page but there are a zillion topics.
Can you point/name the topic/thread where the Orthos chat?