 Poster: A snowHead
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I ruptured my ACL back in February and whilst originally looking to have a replacement my consultant suggested that as I was already pretty fit and was approaching 60 it might be possible to avoid / defer an operation if I did not get any "collapses" of the knee and was able to further increase muscle bulk in my legs.
He also said that a reasonable percentage of people were able to continue a pretty active lifestyle including tennis (which I don't play but obviously involves a lot of pressure on knees).
I have used the gym and run daily for may years now so just had to adapt the exercises I was doing and have now hugely increased the muscle bulk around my knee and have suffered no instability in the joint since the accident.
He has suggested that I get an Ossur OTS knee brace to use for skiing and was wondering if anyone had any experience of this brace, I am a fairly confident intermediate happy on most reds and some blacks.
I know that their are potential problems with arthritis but the MRI scan showed that the meniscus was pretty sound and with my work commitments I would prefer to avoid an operation at this stage.
Thanks.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Steve.S, the problem is that if your knee DOES collapse you can do a lot of damage when it collapses. I must have damaged my ACL reconstruction March last year, but the physio thought it was an MCL strain, when I returned to hockey training it collapsed from just a bit of sprinting (it collapsed just I was slowing down), and tore my meniscus so badly I had a locked knee. The consultant had to remove 2/3rds of my cartilage to resolve that, it was during that surgery that he discovered that half my ACL recon was destroyed. It fooled both the physio and the MRI as thankfully some is intact but clearly not enough for my knee.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I also ruptured my ACL and had it reconstructed. For a couple years I skied without any bracing, but now I wouldn't ski without my OTS' on each knee. Like the debate on helmets I have not done any controlled experiments as to whether or not this works but on a couple of occasions I have had bad falls and felt the knee brace doing its job so well that it bruised the leg at the support points. Now I wouldn't contemplate skiing without knee braces.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Steve.S,
We fit any make because we aren't tied to a manufacturer, so have experience of Ossur, CTI and Donjoy. They all make good braces.
The most important factor is get it fitted properly by an experienced fitter. I'm not convinced that just trying one on in the shop yourself is enough particularly when you see the cost.
Jonathan Bell
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Thanks Jonathan.
I agree, in fact my consultant said that I would have to go for a proper fitting, however the Ossur website now offers a kind of self fitting service whereby you supply dimensions for various points on your leg, I guess that it would always be best to take the guesswork out and get a fitting.
My consultant boards but treats a lot of skiers and recommended the Ossur and I was just looking for peoples experiences before taking the plunge because as you say these things are not cheap.
I live in Burnley, are you solely based in the South East or do you have any locations further North?
Cheers.
Stephen.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Steve.S, although I didn't rupture my ACL, I had a tibial spine avulsion fracture and after surgery ended up with only half an ACL. I was measured for an Ossur CTi knee brace but unfortunately for me, the OTS ones weren't a good fit so ending up buying a custom one. It keeps my knee as solid as a rock when I'm skiing and gives me a huge amount of confidence, and although it was expensive I'm so glad I paid the extra for a decent fit. I wouldn't/coudn't ski without it. 
Fitted here on recommendation of another snowHead.
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RachelQ, +1/ My CTi is slightly different to yours as it's for MCL. I was lucky and the OTS fitted fine, but before I went to see Serena I had been minded to get a Donjoy, so the value of getting it fitted was well worth it. (I'm down to £23 per ski day now and hope to get it down to £12 per ski day next season!)
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There was one I saw that was made out of this new kind of fabric which worked on some sort of nano technology that was so adaptive it was better than any custom fitted knee brace.. I see if I can it again. Very expensive though.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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ilikethesnow, mine and RachelQ's were almost off the scale expensive@
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| ilikethesnow wrote: |
| There was one I saw that was made out of this new kind of fabric which worked on some sort of nano technology that was so adaptive it was better than any custom fitted knee brace.. I see if I can it again. Very expensive though. |
Hmmm nano technology indeed!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| holidayloverxx wrote: |
| ilikethesnow, mine and RachelQ's were almost off the scale expensive@ |
If you are going to invest in a brace go either dirt cheap ( Bioskin i think we sell the for about £30) or uber which will be about £500 - 600.
Not sure there is much point going in-between, although some people do like a simple knee sleeve with a hinge but i think most would be as good with a simple bioskin.
Most fitters are tied to a brand.
Jonathan Bell
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Jonathan Bell, I've got both. Bio skin on your recommendation which is great if my knee feels a bit irritated, say after a lot of walking, and the uber expensive one for skiing which was a godsend last season. Haven't used the Bioskin for a while and I've taken it out of my handbag
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I had my first skiing knee injury in 1997 which partially tore either acl or pcl (consultants all have different views). I did lots of physio and skied on until 2001 when I had a partial tear in mcl and was told to get a 4 point brace. I got a CTi and have skied in it ever since except for 2 part days last winter when my luggage and I were separated so I did a few runs without it. I could do blue run skiing without it but knee doesn't feel stable for anything more. I completely ruptured acl although wearing the brace in 2004 and had it repaired, then had a hairline crack in the tibial plateau in 2008 although I was wearing the brace. I think that injury may have been caused by the brace as I landed hard sideways and the crack is where the acl repair had been done. That all healed and things were fine until last winter when I had a silly stumble through crossing my skis on a green run while turning to look at the family behind me. Knee has not been right since then so I saw the consultant a few weeks ago. Just before that I was trying to run for a bus, tripped on uneven pavement and landed hard on the bad knee. He thinks I have now torn what remained of the damaged pcl so I'm waiting for an MRI and it may be surgery again. However if I can get away with building up the knee even more I'll try that as I'll loose next winter's skiing if I have surgery now. The CTi does allow me to ski black bump runs which I couldn't do without it. I only wear it for skiing and just have an elastic support for hill walking. Thoroughly recommend the CTi, its not cheap but my cost/day must be pretty low now. You can buy spare parts and all the straps and padding are washable.
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