Knee brace after reconstruction?

Goretex_Vidal

Goretex_Vidal

Member
13 months out from knee reconstruction (ACL, MCL, meniscus and tib) and I'm able to run a few miles, bike all day and go for short hikes on the knee with a compression sleeve. However, I don't feel confident my knee is stable enough to hold up while skiing the way I want to.

I'm not sure what I should be asking my orthopedic surgeon when it comes to knee braces, since it never came up in our most recent follow-up appointment so any help with this would be appreciated.

What's your experience with using a brace? Any types to avoid, types you'd recommend, should I just go hard on more rehab exercises and tough it out with the sleeve? Etc.

**This thread was edited on Mar 21st 2024 at 10:54:44am

**This thread was edited on Mar 21st 2024 at 10:55:09am
 
Definitely get a brace, at least for the first couple years. I got a $50 one from my mountain and it works for a while, but they're dogshit honestly. I had to buy a new one after 20 something days and I've sewn mine up a good bit to make them better. I have hurt my knee (thankfully pain not injury) when it's not adjusted correctly, and adjust many times a day.

I've heard way better things about the custom braces you can order through your doc. My doc never hit me back up after I inquired. I'm thinking of trying my hand at making my own brace company, so following this thread for people's input
 
14599841:Dlonetti said:
My surgeon told me after surgery that skiing is one of the few sports where the numbers show that wearing a brace reduces the re-tear rate. So I've worn mine since surgery in 2021. I rock one of these https://www.kneesupports.com/donjoy-armor-bilateral-knee-brace. Got it through my doctor and insurance covered some/most of it i think. He said this the one that the US ski team uses
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I used this same brace for a few years after i shredded my knee. after about 2 seasons of skiing with it on i don't feel the need to ski with one anymore.
 
14599868:Thegenericskier said:
I used this same brace for a few years after i shredded my knee. after about 2 seasons of skiing with it on i don't feel the need to ski with one anymore.
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Yeah i guess I'd say I'm at that point too. Especially since it doesnt stay tight/slides down my leg throughout the day which probably keeps it from doing what its supposed to do anyway
 
Wore one for two seasons after my reconstruction. Now I’ll occasionally wear one on my “good knee” which seems to be at a higher risk of a tear than my “bad” knee. Definitely go for a custom fit brace for skiing or you will be pulling it up your leg after every lap.
 
I wear one (Donjoy CTI Custom) on my injury knee and I wear a soft sleeve on the 'good knee' mainly to protect it from bashing the brace into it. I'm coming to the end of my third season back and I still wear it every time I ski. I don't wear it for anything other than skiing (so I skate, surf, climb, gym etc without).
 
topic:Goretex_Vidal said:
13 months out from knee reconstruction (ACL, MCL, meniscus and tib) and I'm able to run a few miles, bike all day and go for short hikes on the knee with a compression sleeve. However, I don't feel confident my knee is stable enough to hold up while skiing the way I want to.

I'm not sure what I should be asking my orthopedic surgeon when it comes to knee braces, since it never came up in our most recent follow-up appointment so any help with this would be appreciated.

What's your experience with using a brace? Any types to avoid, types you'd recommend, should I just go hard on more rehab exercises and tough it out with the sleeve? Etc.

**This thread was edited on Mar 21st 2024 at 10:54:44am

**This thread was edited on Mar 21st 2024 at 10:55:09am
Click to expand...

I sprained my MCL and did a small fracture in my tibea a couple years ago and I was terrified to ski for the first time. I had a brace that wouldnt let me move my knee for the first 2 months after hurting my knee and the first few days just walking around were pretty scary cause i kept feeling like my knee would randomly dislocate or something but my doc said it was all in my head so i ignored it and nothing ever happened to it after that. I never skied with a brace before but I know a few people that have had small and very bad injuries that will never clip into skis without it.
 
After this thread I started skiing a couple days without my brace lol. Didn’t notice anything feeling different
 
14600918:steezytangerine said:
I had a brace that wouldnt let me move my knee for the first 2 months after hurting my knee and the first few days just walking around were pretty scary cause i kept feeling like my knee would randomly dislocate or something but my doc said it was all in my head
Click to expand...

After my surgery, I had one of those locking braces and I was supposed to always have it locked in full extension when crutching around as ya all know. Well in the very first week post-op, I got out of my brother's car and thought I locked it, but didn't and then I slipped on the ice, falling such that my knee bent to full 90° where the brace stopped way before it was supposed to. It hurt so bad and I swore I just fucked everything up. Immediately went to my PT and was so worried but he said the same thing, it was totally fine and all in my head lmao.

I've had multiple instances throughout the last few years where I was doing something and hurt my knee, for sure thinking I reinjured something. A lot of the time it was when I smoked some weed and I got so much more paranoid and anxious for days after. It's part of why I stopped smoking honestly. It's been fine every time.
 
Like others have suggested, get the Don Joy custom. It will fit you correctly, work like it is suppose to and insurance should pay for it after an injury/surgery like you have had.

I have had both knees operated on and I wear a DJ custom on each leg. The left one is much older and doesnt fit correctly anymore so I have talked to a DJ rep recently and he quoted me a new custom for $650.

I have skied without them before and I know I will most likely be fine but if I can prevent another injury I will fork out the money and keep wearing them.
 
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