Torn ACL--Wearing a Brace when you ski

steezeandskis

steezeandskis

Member
Hey Fellow NSr's,

I know many of you have gone through ACL Reconstruction and I'm wondering when you got back to skiing and when you did, did you start off wearing a knee brace? I had surgery 6 months ago and my doc cleared me for skiing with a brace. Problem is the brace is $600 bucks and I'm broke as shit. I'm wondering if it's best just to take this season off and wait until next year or do you think I would need to wear the brace at the beginning of next season as well? If i would be beneficial for multiple seasons I think I'll buy it, otherwise no skiing for me this year :(

Sparknotes: Once you started skiing after ACL surgery did you wear a brace? If so, how long and when did you get back to skiing?

Thanks
 
I imagine you'll end up wearing some form of a brace (even if it's a non-intrusive wrap of some kind) forever, won't you? At least, that seems like a good idea, at least have some support there.
 
I had the ACL surg on june 1st, been skiing with the breg brace since late december. I'm just doing low impact stuff, very few if any spins, just started jumping the other day and it feels great. the brace is essential to any athletic stuff I do, I really suggest getting it (if possible)
 
I have the don joy hard brace but never end up wearing it. I tried skiing in it a couple times and found that at least for me it didn't do anything other than bother me (had ACL and MCL reconstructed btw). I honestly would say get a good soft brace and take it easy for a bit. Once you get your strength back up in that leg you should be fine skiing without anything at all. I don't use anything and I've been fine in both the park and when I'm coaching in the race course.

This is just my experience though, if you really want to play it safe then get the brace, and it might not bother you as much as it did me. Oh and I know that at least for me the brace was covered by my insurance. So I'd see if it is for you too.
 
wore the don joy brace for about 3 runs and never put it back on. just rehab until it feels stable enough to ski without a brace.
 
I wear the breg brace on every run. It was annoying at first but now I don't mind it. Kinda makes me feel like a robotic skiing machine
 
I always wear my breg brace, it doesn't really hinder performance in any way so why not wear it? Not trying to go through that whole thing again.
 
I had a custom brace to ski with after surgery. I also skied with it before surgery which was a terrible idea if anyone is considering it. Screwed me for life as I now have osteoarthritis.

Anyways I started skiing about 7 months after surgery, with the brace 100% of the time. I always wore it until I got new boots that just didn't fit right with the brace. The new boots came up too high and the bottom bar across my shin would get wedged between my leg and the tongue of my boot. So I just learned to ski without it. It was terrifying at first and I felt so unstable and wobbly but after a few days I could ski normally again. That was my 3rd season after surgery. So, 2 seasons with the brace then the following season without it. Haven't worn it since and surgery was close to 7 years ago.
 
I will most likely never ski park again without my knee brace. It will be 2 years in a few weeks. Get the brace. Insurance should cover it.
 
Mine is so close to doing that, and when I first got it that was what I thought wasn't going to be able to wear ski boots and the brace at the same time. Turns out it's fine.
 
People should post what brace they're using. Donjoy alone makes like 50 different kinds.
 
i started skiing at 6 months post op with a brace but it was cheap and uncomfortable so i dont wear it anymore. but i make sure i am well aware of what im doing and i dont go as hard as i use to.
 
I have a partially torn ACL that I never got repaired (I do get knee pain still but it's pretty easy to manage, and I still run, ski, ride, etc a lot), and I wear a brace when I ski on either chunky, thick mashed-potato snow days (ie spring in Tahoe) or pow days-it definitely helps. I recommend it, at least at first if you have a recent ACL repair for that extra support.
 
I've got a Townsend Design Premier brace and love it. OP talk to your doc, mine got my insurance company to pay for it. Good luck dude
 
I got surgery in June and i've skied this whole season without a brace.

There are no studies that say braces make that much of a difference when it comes to re-injuring it. If your fall hard and twist your knee enough a brace isn't gonna prevent your ACL from tearing again.
 
If you do your rehab correctly, more often than not your brand new shiny ACL is stronger than the other one. At least that's what my doc told me. Never have worn a brace skiing and this is my 5th season riding on it.
 
Wow, thanks for all the info guys. Sounds like 50-50 on wearing one but since i'm going to be skiing 6 months out of surgery I think I'll get it and suck up the dough.
 
i wear my brieg or however you spell it. every day. this is my second season after surgery, acl/mcl/lcl/meniscus

one thing you might think about is trying to find a used brace that fits you okay-ish, and then getting it re-custom fitted to your knee by the company who made it after you get it.

mine will redo it for like fifty bucks or whatever. i'm not sure how easy it would be to do, but worth looking into at least.

good luck with your surgery and do your PT. it will help so big.
 
Meh, i'm 3 years out of my ACL reconstruction this June and i've never worn a brace except for the post-surgery one you wear with your crutches.

My doc said braces are pointless and only really offer a placebo type effect on your mindset. However, everyone is different and it seems like every doctor has a different opinion on braces these days...

My advice: wear one if it makes you feel more comfortable, but don't get the impression that it will make you invincible.
 
after the knee has healed the brace is exclusively there for your mind.

once you are healed, and all rehabed up, your knee should be as strong or stronger than before. the reason you see some football players wearing them is to protect against getting rolled up on. you dont see anyone who actually runs wearing a big ol bulky brace. there is very little danger of blowing your knee through a "getting rolled up on" type motion in skiing. its mainly a twisting, or landing on a locked knee type scenario.

But until you are fully cleared, do what your doc says, or tell him to fuck off, because frankly only you know how your knee is feeling. unless that doc is working with you a couple times a week, he is assuming you are progressing in your rehab at a generally average rate.

 
This is true.

I asked my sugeron about this before my surgery and what he said is once your knee is strong and stable enough to ski a brace only sends messages to your brain to try and prevent injury the brace itself does not do so. So I guess really its preference. I'm still going to get one for next year when I can ski. But continue to do some PT that you have learned knees can never be strong enough for skiing.
 
partially tore my ACL, luckily not bad enough to need surgery and full reconstruction but basically had to wear the brace in the fall for soccer season and, long story short, made running really painful after a while. went back to my doctor to see if i could play without it, he said no. went to a different knee slash shoulder specialist (the doctor my brother saw for his shoulder dislocation) and he said i'd be fine without it. he basically said that because i partially tore it and didnt have surgery to fix it, it would be slightly looser than my other knee for the rest of my life. took it off and i was fine, no problems whatsoever. i'd imagine that a full reconstruction would make the ACL good as new? if so, i doubt you'll need to wear a brace once you get back to full strength and stability, if not, i'd listen to what your doctor says
 
I also partially tore my acl in Colorado one year. They gave me this pretty intense soft brace with the metal hinge things in it that could be removed. 2 days or recovery and I got myself an ace bandage and rapped that shit up, through the brace on over the top and was skiing bumps again. Wasn't te most comfortable but it worked
 
So 6 months out the knee is "fully healed" but it can take up to 18 months for the muscles to come back fully, and I completely believe that. I am right leg dominant and after some pretty intensive physical therapy and personal training for 3 months my right knee and leg muscles are visibly smaller than my left. This is why a brace is suggested. As far as protection goes, the brace I am getting does help prevent it by not allowing the twisting motion, or at least restricting it.
 
braces cant prevent against rotational forces. they can only protect against shearing forces...

how far out from surgery are you? where you in super good shape beforehand?
 
Im 6 months out, and my knees have always been pretty strong. Lots of running and biking. And the brace i'm getting from don Joy definitely offers rotational resistance, obviously not completely disallowing rotation but it WILL help the knee from rotating, allowing for more aggressive riding with less risk.
 
which brace? im legit curious...i dont understand how it could prevent rotation.

And i would suggest weaning yourself off the brace as soon as you can so your mind doesnt become dependent on the brace for your knee to feel stable. I know a couple of my lineman had blown their knees, and now dont do anything athletic without their braces because they "just dont feel safe with out it".
 
it doesnt prevent rotation....

where do you see anything about rotation? regardless, its pretty irrelevant because rotation isnt how you blow your acl. looks like a dope brace. and it fits above your boot?
 
rotation = twisting

you were thinking of shearing. I was wondering how they could prevent rotation without physically attaching the brace to your bone haha.
 
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