 Poster: A snowHead
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My better half is having trouble with her knee and is thinking of getting a knee brace for when we go to Altenmarkt in January. Sounds simple, but a quick trawl around tinterweb and I was swamped with loads of different makes and types. Prices vary a great deal as well. Anyone with any experience and guidance it would be much appreciated.
A quick prognosis on her knee: sporadic pain, tender to touch probably slightly arthritic. Doctor visit pending.
Thanks
Soulo 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Worth getting proper medical advice, as if you get referred they might be able to put custom brace on her which would be the ideal solution.
Don't know much about it, but minor pain and weakness in one of my knees from a very old injury was helped with a Mueller HG80 brace, substantially better than the cheap neoprene ones from Boots etc but probably nowhere near as good as something fitted by a professional.
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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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Most things sold as braces are functionally useless. Generally to get anything that might offer real functional protection your looking at expensive models from CTI, Donjoy etc. The only ones I've seen claimed to be truly prophylactic are MotoX braces from the likes of Asterisk.
By all means get something neoprene that keeps the joint warm and psychosomatically makes it feel supported but for me tubigrip works just as well.
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@Dave of the Marmottes, one thing the hg80 did well for me is stabilising the kneecap and preventing the particular twist and straighten action which caused problems for me. Tubigrip wouldn't give the same rigidity, even neo supports with kneecap hole didn't have that effect.
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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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@soulo, both my knee braces were recommended by my Physio.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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The CTI and Donjoy mentioned above won't help with arthritic pain but may prevent an acl injury
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I broke the top off the Tibia and damaged the Medial Meniscus Ligament some years ago. After several months of physio I bought a GUL knee brace which is neoprene but with rigid plastic 2 part hinges down each side. I have skied with this ever since. It definitely stabilizes the knee laterally, keeps it warm and whenever I try to ski without it, I get an ache for days after. As others have said. First port of call should be to get some professional advice as to what the problem with your partners knee really is.
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@Old Man Of Lech, +1 same injury. I use ossur cti as recommended by an orthotist. If i was the IP I would be after a diagnosis, physio and then think about a brace
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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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All advice taken on board, will check with doc then get advice on brace from physio.
Thanks everyone
Soulo
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If the knee just a bit arthritic don't bother with anything more than a simple Bioskin knee sleeve. They are about £30 and work by improving proprioception( feedback from knee to brain). Any thing else probably a waste of money or no additional advantage. There's a blog on my website on bracing if you want
Jonathan Bell
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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My daughter has just had a knee brace made at Ability Matters in Wimbledon, who came highly recommended....fingers crossed
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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, thanks for your input on this thread. I've just had knee surgery, 4 weeks ago, and have been told I have stage 3 arthritis in the knee. I also have a tear in the cartilage which has been tidied up. I'm supposed to be going skiing in January so hopefully recovered by then! Wondering brace wise which direction to go. I've tried various braces in the past including a Mueller one which does help but find they get too sweaty and sore after a decent days skiing and start to bunch up around the back of the knee. I'm ideally looking for something that will just give me a little support and confidence. FYI my knee also feels like it wants to give way sometimes. Thanks.
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@swishtony, if you google "ski Mojo" you'll find a lot of discussion of this device, which many people find invaluable. I suspect that it might be useful for somebody with arthritic knees because it takes a lot of the load off the knee - it helps "push you back up" after you've loaded the springs by flexing down. For hiking, do you use walking poles? I guess the Mojo does a similar sort of job for the more strenuous business of skiing.
Another possible way to help your knees is to ensure your technique is as good as possible and, in particular, that you are not "in the back seat" - hanging your weight on your knees rather than stacked on your skeleton. My knees are elderly and not great and my knees tell me the MOMENT I am skiing in the back seat (usually being defensive when things get difficult).
Finally, make sure you do all the rehab exercises to ensure your leg muscles are in optimum balance. There is loads of info on line, not all of it reliable or wise. Do you have a physiotherapist helping with your rehab? If not, well worth doing.
I have a CTI brace which cost over £500 and which will, I hope, prevent my injuring my dodgy left knee further - previous injury means I have too much slackness in the ligaments on the inside and the outside of the knee though thankfully my ACL is apparently in good shape! I had an awkward fall in Tignes last week (fell off the top of a T bar, backwards, unable to move at all  ) but my knee was OK. That brace does nothing to reduce loading on the knee though. It does a different job. I know that opinions on braces vary a lot but I do feel that I am less likely to twist the knee if I fall and that confidence is important. The bioskin sleeve mentioned above by @Jonathan Bell is reasonably light and comfortable. And cheap!
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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yes, swift intervention from skimottaret saved the day, @Hurtle. It was most undignified. Andy, the instructor who joined the second half of the Tignes session, said he had a woman bust both ACLs falling backwards between her skis - slowly! I did it more spectacularly - the T bar hooked me behind the leg just as I thought I was free.  It was a decent test of the efficacy of the brace.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@pam w, Thanks for the reply. I looked at the mojo a few years ago and TBH it still looks a bit of a faff. I look after myself reasonably well and am already back in the gym doing many exercises but going gentle on the knee so far! I wasn't offered physio at all which surprises me but actually I'm OK with that as I'm well up on what i need to do.
Technique is also reasonably good, first skied over 50 years ago (56 yrs old now) as I grew up in Switzerland, saying that between the ages of 25 and 45 I hardly skied at all for one reason or another.
Might go and look at the new mojo sometime soon to see what I think. Thanks for your input.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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54 year old Mojo user here. It is a faff setting it up for the first time (took me about 20mins) but after that it only takes me a few minutes extra in the morning to put it on and it goes under the salopettes so you don't look like Robocop.
I used to wear a neoprene brace on my dodgy left knee, but the mojo effectively has two knee braces built in which work fine as a substitute
I posted a review of my experience elsewhere on here. I'm a believer as my skiing day was getting shorter due to pain and fitness as the one good knee was doing around 90% of the work, but the first year I used it I was back to first lift / last lift of the day behaviour, much to the annoyance of my younger and fitter ( in both senses of the word! ) wife who was not unhappy with the previously curtailed skiing day.
It feels like I've extended the possibility of my skiing on by decades for just few hundred quid which I can easily justify in terms of the savings in apres ski as I'm still up on the mountain instead.
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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'm 61 and a new 2016 mojo user with a busted left ACL - just back from the Arlberg
After an accident last year I never thought I'd ski again
All I can say is that I skied hard and fast and confidently all day every day for a week and I didn't have any aches or pains either then and now.
My mates were amazed.
I agree with Jiggs62 it'll extend my skiing for decades - as far as I can see there is nothing like it on the market
Bearing in mind how good it is what I don't understand is why the Ski Mojo isn't more widely available not only in the UK but worldwide.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Pam w mentioned buying a £500 knee brace... wow that is a heck of a lot of money!
I dont really see the point of buying something that expensive as wearing a knee support constantly has got to be bad for your knees.. when i get injured i tend to just buy something cheap (here is a link to what I normally go for) and then when my knee start to regain strength I make sure to just wear it less and less.
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