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aliebe

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Was pondering whether it was worth getting knee braces for the pure function of trying to prevent future injuries. I have never hurt my knees nor do I experience any soreness. Did a quick (ok, very quick) look on google and it seemed inconclusive as to the effectiveness.

Does any one wear braces for prevention despite having no previous injuries or general pain? Next question is when you do wear it/them, do you put it outside or underneath your baselayers?
 

RuleMiHa

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Was pondering whether it was worth getting knee braces for the pure function of trying to prevent future injuries. I have never hurt my knees nor do I experience any soreness. Did a quick (ok, very quick) look on google and it seemed inconclusive as to the effectiveness.

Does any one wear braces for prevention despite having no previous injuries or general pain? Next question is when you do wear it/them, do you put it outside or underneath your baselayers?
I did for a while but ultimately decided it screwed up my proprioception and weakened my knee and I'm transitioning out of them. The data is equivocal, there are studies that say it works and studies that say otherwise.
 

HDSkiing

You’re Sliding On-Snow; Don’t Over-Think it!
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Haven’t skied with a knee brace but I do wear a compression sleeve over my knees. They help keep my knees warm and supposedly aid in the support of the surrounding musculature/ligaments helping to relieve stiffness etc. but often need to be readjusted as they tend to slide down.
 

Kneale Brownson

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I use Ossur Rebound wrap-around velcro closure knee braces that have joints in them. First one was prescribed for me after a MCL strain. I got the second for my other knee after a fractured tibia plateau. They keep my knees warm too:golfclap:
 

Uncle Louie

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Haven’t skied with a knee brace but I do wear a compression sleeve over my knees. They help keep my knees warm and supposedly aid in the support of the surrounding musculature/ligaments helping to relieve stiffness etc. but often need to be readjusted as they tend to slide down.

I'm sort of in this camp but with a lightweight brace instead of the compression sleeve. The brace is just long enough to contact the top of my boot so downward slide is minimal and there is a cut out for the knee cap. There is also no notable effect of the brace making contact with the boot.
 

Daves not here

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I blew my right ACL out skiing about 5 years ago. I wore a donjoy ACL brace the season after and still do to this day. Knee is pretty good but it is still not as good as my left. Probably more mental support than anything at this point. I have not noticed any issues in performance.

To the OP question: I would prefer to never have to wear one if not needed.
 

Crank

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I wear them because I have osteoarthritis and they enable me to ski multiple days with much less knee pain. I wear them over my base layer. I would not wear them just for injury prevention and I find them to be a bit uncomfortable but they do not restrict movement. I get a little downward slippage throughout the day.
 

Monique

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My ortho doc said knee braces can help protect ligaments, but may increase your risk of meniscus damage. So from that perspective, it's not all upside.

I did have knee surgery, still don't wear a knee brace because of that and personal preference.
 

Fishbowl

A Parallel Universe
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I have a knee that is prone to subluxation (dislocation of the patella) and wear a Breg knee brace to help prevent this. It works by not allowing the knee to completely straighten, as a bent leg tightens the patella tendon making it harder to dislocate. It’s heavy, cumbersome and causes hot spots, so I don’t wear it all the time, just when I feel nervous.
 

Castle Dave

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I asked the same question of my brace specialist in the context of riding my dirt bike (KTM 300XCW) and he said it wasn't worthwhile and the best protection was strong leg muscles.
I have a knee that is prone to subluxation (dislocation of the patella) and wear a Breg knee brace to help prevent this. It works by not allowing the knee to completely straighten, as a bent leg tightens the patella tendon making it harder to dislocate. It’s heavy, cumbersome and causes hot spots, so I don’t wear it all the time, just when I feel nervous.
I also have a subluxing left knee cap and was recommended this brace which works by not allowing the kneecap to move to the outside. Sounds much more comfortable than the Breg brace. I wear it skiing and dirt biking
https://www.orthomed.ca/donjoy-tru-pull-lite
 

Coach13

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I have a lot of experience with knee (and other) braces in many sports. I’m not a fan minus prior/current injury or pain. I like them to add strength to a healing or weak knee, but recommend getting out of the braces when you can to avoid permanent reliance on the brace. I think that long term users (minus injury or pain) are really just gaining piece of mind, which is certainly okay.
 

SkiMore

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I am curious to hear your opinions on whether a knee brace (the kind with metal bars on the sides) limits proper inclination and angulation. I think the limitation would be minimal but would be interested to hear what others think.
 

Kneale Brownson

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I think the joints on the sides of my braces are a plastic material instead of metal. The braces put no limit on my ability to incline or angulate. I was glad to be "braced" the other day when another idiot ran me down from behind with the majority of the impact behind my right knee.
 

cantunamunch

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I am curious to hear your opinions on whether a knee brace (the kind with metal bars on the sides) limits proper inclination and angulation. I think the limitation would be minimal but would be interested to hear what others think.

I can see why you'd think that, but ...point of clarification...are we talking about the subtype "OA offloader" type braces? Are we talking about the subtype "post-ligament-surgery" braces, which have straps that intentionally limit both flexion and extension?

My point here is, the brace might indicate the presence of complicating factors depending on which type we're talking of, why it's being worn, and how it's adjusted.
 

karlo

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wrap-around velcro closure knee braces that have joints in them

on whether a knee brace (the kind with metal bars on the sides) limits proper inclination and angulation

Sounds like I have a similar brace to Kneale's. It was prescribed to me when I strained a knee ligament. I continue to use it because I tend to hyperextend my left knee, which I think contributed to the strained ligament. The hinge has pins, to control range of flex and extension. I don't limit my flex. I have extension set at the lowest restriction. I can still do full extension, but the resistance allows me to react, and avoid hyperextension. No limit at all in flex, ext, and angulation. I can tell by comparing left leg to right
 

Kneale Brownson

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The support arms in mine will not go beyond straight.
 

eok

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As some may have mentioned here, if you have healthy knees then the best thing you can do to protect them is develop and maintain leg and core strength.

Along with that, a compression pant (like Opedix or CWX) will also help support leg muscles and knees. The compression also helps your leg muscles recover and can reduce/prevent sore leg muscles if you've burned your legs up during a big ski day (assuming you've kept yourself hydrated).

I ski without an ACL in one knee. Have for over 30 years. I injured it back in the day when ACL reconstruction was not an option. Used a brace for a while post injury, but it really was more of a psychological "crutch" and it didn't provide any magical stability in the knee. What did work was - per the 'doc's advice: ditch the brace and build leg and core muscle "and don't try to ski like Klammer". I followed his advice (wasn't a big Klammer fan anyway). It took me two years to get my knee back almost 100% and a few more years before I felt it was 100%. I have kept up with the exercises all these years.

In 2013, based on advice from a buddy, I started wearing Opedix compression pants for the muscle recovery benefit. For me they work. Another plus (for me) is they do provide a degree of knee support, which I like.
 

CalG

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The evidence I have been exposed to suggests that the the only benefit of "knee braces" is some sort of triggering that brings your muscle, tendon and ligament into play when it is truly needed. Any mechanical support offered by the appliance being too little and too late. That may be wrong, but makes sense to me..

Strengthening exercise may be far more valuable than any device....

I've put my trust in this theory at any rate ;-)
 

Stephen Witkop

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I ski without an ACL in one knee. Have for over 30 years. I injured it back in the day when ACL reconstruction was not an option.

Same experience for me - 30+ years since I lost my acl racing motocross. I had a couple of custom carbon fiber braces that I skied with for about 20 years until the last one didn't fit any more due to the changes in the shape of my knee from osteoarthritis. Went back to a new ortho since my old guy was retired but he wouldn't give me a prescription for a new brace. He said he didn't believe in them except for rehab which ticked me off since I used to tune his skis when I worked at a local shop and figured he would be sympathetic.

So I started skiing without the brace which felt very unstable and weak at first, scary actually but it gradually got stronger and eventually felt normal and similar to the good knee. The best thing I did though was to put some serious miles on my road bike. Now I get less swelling and can ski more consecutive days than 20 years ago even though I have less cartilage to work with.

My experience makes me wonder if wearing a brace for prolonged periods might actually be detrimental by making the body rely on it instead of strengthening the relevant connective tissues.
 

eok

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The evidence I have been exposed to suggests that the the only benefit of "knee braces" is some sort of triggering that brings your muscle, tendon and ligament into play when it is truly needed. Any mechanical support offered by the appliance being too little and too late. That may be wrong, but makes sense to me..

Strengthening exercise may be far more valuable than any device....

I've put my trust in this theory at any rate ;-)

Yep, little actual protective benefit when used in any of the "cutting" sports (soccer, football, etc.) and skiing.

However, if you have instability in the knee (post-injury) a brace can help get some of the stability back... while you go through physical therapy to get your leg muscles strong again. Anyway, that's my experience.

I have known people that have had to cope with some persistent/permanent knee instability post-recovery (some had ACL replacement, some not). To cope, they always wear a brace - like a DonJoy or the like. These are people that do all they can to enhance supportive muscle strength but still face some persistent instability.

I guess the catch-22 of bracing is it can "trick" the body to be dependent. Especially if you think you can get away with just using a brace and not staying on top of your leg & core training.
 
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