Wondering if there is anyone else on here who has fubar’d knees and wears a brace for certain activities?
I had knee surgery this May and had a torn meniscus repaired (not cut out like most people, but sutured back together); and I need to go back next summer and have my ACL replaced because I don’t have one.
After talking with Doc, he set me up with a what I consider “professional” Donjoy custom brace so I can still snowboard this year. So I have on-order a Donjoy Defiance III knee brace.
Anyone else on here have one of these, or similar, or experience with them??
I have a full velcro top and bottom brace I wear to play sports…i forgot to take it to the slopes with me and I was in alot of pain. Gonna wear it this year in the snow and hope I fair better.
cti2. I wear them when racing, you need to go to a professional to get a prescription for them, I have mine set so my leg can only bend like 160* when racing to keep from hyper extending. I’ve also wore them without the knee pad when I injured my knee for walking.
They are about $1,800 a piece but your health insurance should cover most.
Basically instead of the Dr repairing everything at once in my knee; he’s doing it in 2 surgeries. We did one this past May, and are doing the other next summer. It’s going to make for a stronger knee when it’s done.
I just currently don’t have an ACL; nothing can fix that but the surgery next summer.
Do you own research on them. And I mean like at a library with reputable journals. You may find that they say braces dont help or do so only negligably. A ton of college football teams order them (Donjoy brand) and require their line guys to wear them injured or not because of the psychological and potential physiological support. There is a ton of literature that says they sometimes help, while being the same amount that says they may not do a thing.
Your meniscus adds “depth” to the joint and helps with force distribution. Your ACL prevents knee hyperextension and anterior translation of the tibia. Having injured both, you dont have alot to play with so to speak, as im sure you feel the difference when even walking.
You should take the winter off, unless youre going super easy. But then again you cant control everything.
In all honesty, if your doctor knows you are snowboarding and is giving you a brace to “get by”, he is an idiot(all formal education aside) and should advise you to physically prepare for the surgery with a prehab style treatment. I wouldnt take any chances, you have one set of joints…
my meniscus was repaired and sutured back together so it’s good to go; unlike 98% of meniscus surgeries where they cut the torn piece out.
I trust my surgeon more than I trust most doctors (there’s a BUNCH of people on here who have been fixed by him, he’s one of the best ones in the area); we talked long and hard about the repair work that needed to be done; and decided on this path. He sees no issues with Snowboarding with the brace due to the repaired meniscus as long as I get the strength back up in my knee and wear the brace to prevent the hyperextension/translation.
The “get-by” was more added by me than him; as far as he’s concerned I’m good to go unless my knee starts acting up. I’m just planning on going back next year to get the ACL fixed; so for me it’s more of a “get-by”; even though I know that even after next years surgery I’m still going to need the brace.
Dude, call my surgeon and go get it fixed if you have the Insurance, Trust me, it’s a lotta work, but it’s well worth it. Longer you don’t get it fixed, the worse it’s going to be as you’re just doing more damage.
Dr Joesph Buran, 1000 Youngs Rd, 716-639-8358
oh, and there’s at least 2 other people on NYspeed who have had work done by him (or family members)
I hear you. I tore my left acl sparring two years ago. Didn’t know what was wrong until I got an MRI a few months ago. I’m going to look into a brace to carry me through summer. (I already rollerbladed for 2 summers and played beach volleyball last summer without a good brace, just tape and a neoprene brace.) I’m considering surgery late this summer or fall. I know I need the surgery. Just a little scared and my job situation is so sketchy right now that I may lose my health insurance. Plus work has me so stressed I don’t think I have it in me to do the recovery and PT.
I plan on seeing the surgeon in the near future. If he prescribes a brace I’ll give an update. If he won’t prescribe me one I’m going with the non-custom Donjoy xtreme action armor brace for $450. It has some pretty good reviews. See below.
I had one back in high school when I f’d my knee up, the doctor said I’d have to wear it for the rest of my life in any sports event I played in.
Big bummer, so I spent about 3 months in advanced rehab and then I took it upon myself to make sure my knee got back stronger than the other. By the time my senior year started I didn’t even need the brace anymore and the doctor thought it was a miracle because my injured knee ended up being stronger than my other.
Well, so far this brace has made a TON of difference this winter. My knee has been great with very few issues; none serious.
I can ride all day on a good surface; but if the hills are beat to hell (AKA mini moguls everywhere) then I get sore pretty quickly; seems like the fast repetitive impact is what upsets it and makes it painful.
I thought it was going to make it “weird” to snowboard; but after the first few runs of the season, I forgot I was wearing it; and now I don’t even think about it anymore. I’m a little slower going from the lift to the hills; but IMO that’s not a big deal at all.
