Knee Brace

M0T · 16 Feb 2008 at 03:59

I have skiing in a month and a bit and I need to get myself a knee brace for my left knee.

I have previously injured my MCL and suffer some instability so I want to braced. Can anyone recommend anything good?

Toekiller · 16 Feb 2008 at 07:39

Best thing I've seen in keeping your knee supported.

http://www.comstock.com/web/search/loupe.asp?Image=bxp28222.jpg&Type=BX

semi-pro waster · 16 Feb 2008 at 11:53

How much are you willing to spend? Depending on the amount you have to play with and how badly your knee is damaged you could go with a simple neoprene support or there are much more complicated braces which incorporate metalwork/plastics and stop lateral movement however the prices ramp up considerably from the little I know about the subject.

If you had a physio after your injury then it may be worth asking them as they should be able to give you an individual recommendation.

M0T · 16 Feb 2008 at 13:34

I really don't want to be spending a lot of money, just enough to get something decent. The instability is not too bad at the moment, but after an hours walking around shopping it does get significantly worse. I am also still suffering the pain from some bone bruising in the joint from the last time it gave out on me whilst skiing.

If I were to go and ask my physio then I would need to make an appointment, bam £90 please.

semi-pro waster · 16 Feb 2008 at 13:59

There do appear to be a few specialist shops for this sort of thing but it will depend on your location how easy they are to get to. The Mueller Hg 80 seems to come quite highly recommended for skiing though so that might be worth considering, I've never tried it or any other though.

georges · 16 Feb 2008 at 14:00

NHS do physios though. I had one for my shoulder with no waiting time for the first appointment either, or subsequent ones.

iSam · 16 Feb 2008 at 14:00

M0T said:
I really don't want to be spending a lot of money, just enough to get something decent. The instability is not too bad at the moment, but after an hours walking around shopping it does get significantly worse. I am also still suffering the pain from some bone bruising in the joint from the last time it gave out on me whilst skiing.

If I were to go and ask my physio then I would need to make an appointment, bam £90 please.

Ouch, I used to have insoles when my knees were bad. Did the trick.

M0T · 16 Feb 2008 at 14:26

georges said:
NHS do physios though. I had one for my shoulder with no waiting time for the first appointment either, or subsequent ones.

I was told I would have to see a knee specialist who would refer me to either surgery or a physio and it had to go through the specialist first. The waiting list to see the specialist was 3-4 months.

I went with my BUPA cover and had seen a specialist twice, had an MRI scan and had several weeks treatment with a physio by the time I would have seen the NHS Knee guy.

I would still need to get a referal to an NHS physio and that would cost me money as my insurance has run out now

M0T · 23 Feb 2008 at 15:26

I chose this one in the end:
http://www.donjoy.co.uk/en_UK/detail_LigamentKneeBraces2_14280_16156.html

Costs £175 in the shops but I got it for £50 by importing it from america, it seems to come recommended by skiiers for my particular type of instability.

Just got to hope that I don't end up back at the knee specialist after this years trip!

Ry@n · 23 Feb 2008 at 16:14

A proper knee brace is something like a CTi knee brace.

I have a set which i wear whilst motox-ing and they are brilliant. Cost about £450 for 2, i think you can get them individually though. They do cheaper ones and more expensive ones.

I can get a phone number if your interested.

AGD · 23 Feb 2008 at 16:48

I damaged my mcl and wore a normal knee support for skiing and was ok but if you're looking at braces it's probably more serious. Are you sure you should be skiing at all?

M0T · 23 Feb 2008 at 16:53

bibalasvegas said:
I damaged my mcl and wore a normal knee support for skiing and was ok but if you're looking at braces it's probably more serious. Are you sure you should be skiing at all?

The doctor said I would be fine for skiing but I'd need a support. Neopropene only ones don't protect against twisting they just improve general stability, so usually its better to have the hinged ones with the metal support bars down the sides (which is what I went for in the end).

My instability means my knee twists very easily and damages itself frequently (from things such as jumping). The doctor told me I would need some protection against twisting injuries when I decided to ski again.

Edit: My knee joint is missing cartiledge which causes it to be unstable coupled with damaged ligaments. The doctor did some horrible test where he grabbed my calf and pulled the joint around, it knocked bad and there was a lot of movement, and pain.