Knee Braces for Injury Prevention

[Rod9301]

No benefit, you would be better off to develop tree trunk legs, that will protect your knees better than anything.

 

[jack97]

Ever have your knees buckles? Then use a brace, things happen in life.

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[Monique]

Then use a brace, things happen in life.

This is why I wear a helmet, back protector, neck stabilizer, wrist guards, and goggles in order to take the dogs for a walk.

Wait, that's not right.

Some people need protectors and exoskeletons because they're pushing their bodies to the limits. That might be a person with a degenerative disease or an injury that has never been able to return to full use. It might be someone who's flinging themselves down a ski or mountain bike downhill course, approaching world record speeds. But I really do think that if you don't fit into either category, wearing braces limits your ability to develop muscle and reaction times.

YMMV. Do what makes sense to you, preferably with your doctor's support. Note that different doctors have wildly differing views of the best approach.

My knee is still not great almost two years out. There might be any number of contributing factors - chronic inflammation unrelated to the injury is, I suspect, a prime contender - but it could be that I would be better off with a brace. I still don't want one. But I had one very nasty collision about 9 months post surgery, and I've fallen a lot this season, and my ligaments are still just fine - so in terms of protecting the reconstruction, I'm not worried.

 

[mdf]

I had ACL reconstruction on one knee 5 or 6 years ago and the other one last year. The first was a classic heel-catch rotary injury, but the second was a strange straight-forward overthrust injury (the upper leg kept going when the lower stopped). Ironically, that is one of the few cases a brace would protect against beyond any debate.

Still, I got a hinged DonJoy brace for my new repair and will continue to wear the one on the old knee till it wears out (the brace or the knee!).

So here are my impressions as a long-time brace wearer.

1. They cannot do anything against a twisting injury with a straight leg.
2. They can at least partially protect a bent knee against twisting injury. When I fall now I instinctively protect the knee by bending it and keeping it under me.
3. They protect against hyper-extension and overthrust injuries. A few weeks ago I overstretched my hamstrings and had a minor muscle tear. I strongly suspect that without the braces, my knees would have been the weak link. In reality, the muscle healed in a week and a half. A knee is not going to do that.

On the separate issue of the hamstring tear, I have realized that they are way too tight, and might be underdeveloped relative to the muscles on the top side of my upper legs (quads, I guess).

 

[Seldomski]

I don't use a brace and have not had a knee injury (knock on wood) that would make me think about getting one.

My wife uses a Donjoy brace after injuring her ACL while skiing. It looks kind of like this one: https://www.donjoyperformance.com/bionic-fullstop-knee-brace

She only uses it for skiing and does not wear it otherwise (not at the gym, hiking, etc). It is a pretty serious device and takes some experienced hands to set up properly. The PT helped her get the straps in the right spots. She wears it over her base layer and cannot wait to be rid of it at the end of the day. It keeps her knee from moving in directions other than a hinge.

I have bought some less ... um ... industrial ... braces for her to try wearing otherwise for hiking on uneven terrain. But they don't do much compared to the 'real deal.'

The brace offers protection in a fall and prevents exceeding range of motion in directions the knee shouldn't be going anyway.

 

[mdf]

I don't use a brace and have not had a knee injury (knock on wood) that would make me think about getting one.

My wife uses a Donjoy brace after injuring her ACL while skiing. It looks kind of like this one: https://www.donjoyperformance.com/bionic-fullstop-knee-brace

She only uses it for skiing and does not wear it otherwise (not at the gym, hiking, etc). It is a pretty serious device and takes some experienced hands to set up properly. The PT helped her get the straps in the right spots. She wears it over her base layer and cannot wait to be rid of it at the end of the day. It keeps her knee from moving in directions other than a hinge.

I have bought some less ... um ... industrial ... braces for her to try wearing otherwise for hiking on uneven terrain. But they don't do much compared to the 'real deal.'

The brace offers protection in a fall and prevents exceeding range of motion in directions the knee shouldn't be going anyway.

My braces look sort of like the skeleton on that one -- i.e. the frame and straps without the mesh and kneecap dounut. Probably more comfortable but not as tightly linked as the one you reference. Mine are DonJoy, but I don't see them on their website.

 

[jack97]

T

Some people need protectors and exoskeletons because they're pushing their bodies to the limits. That might be a person with a degenerative disease or an injury that has never been able to return to full use. It might be someone who's flinging themselves down a ski or mountain bike downhill course, approaching world record speeds. But I really do think that if you don't fit into either category, wearing braces limits your ability to develop muscle and reaction times.

/QUOTE]

In my younger days my knees took some abuse from martial arts training, never tore ligaments but a day after work outs or sparring my lower body would feel it. So fast forward to a couple years back, I was linking some mogul turns on a very long run, I feel something wrong with my knee the next day so I've been wearing non metallic brace, its more a wrap. FWIW, I feel more confident now about making a quick heavily weighted turn.