 Poster: A snowHead
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We were skiing this week in Flaine.
On two occaisions one of the members of our group nearly caused a major pile up getting onto a chair lift.
It turns out she's wearing knee braces which restrict her movement to the point where, on low chairs, she can't actually get her bum down onto the seat.
She skis with quite a poor range of movement, I'm sure her knee braces are doing her no favours at all.
I mentioned this to her and she says she wears the braces because of an ACL injury she had years ago but she doesn't wear the knee braces for any other activity and has no current problems with her knees.
The braces are simple thick neoprene S&R own brand.
Should I try to persuade her to abandon them , get her to go to an expert of some sort for a more informed opinion or keep well out of it?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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rich, I think she is having you on. There is no way a neoprene support would prevent bending the knee in that way. It must be the knee itself. If she has such a limited range of movemeny the she really needs a proper brace designed to limit the movement. The flexion in my left knee is about 110 degrees. I have a proper mechanical brace that theoretically limits the knee to a 90 degree bend.
I suspect it is her technique at getting on chairs that is letting her down.. She wont be THAT tall and she should be able to flop sideways slightly if the knees wont bend.
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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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Frosty the Snowman, I was pretty surprised, but she definitely doesn't have 90 degrees of movement with the braces and appears to have no real problems without. There were 2 chairs in particular giving her problems, they were a bit lower than normal but everyone else seemed to cope OK.
It was attempting to flop sideways that almost took us all off the lift. I don't believe she'd fake crashing a lift.
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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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rich, Its just stretchy foam, she needs to try harder. Most bizzare.
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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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rich, Has she got the hinges in the right way round ?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I very rarely wear one of these stretchy braces when my knee is playing up. It is probably a bit too small for me and tight fitting, the thick fabric also seems to bunch up in the back of the knee, at the end of the day it can become a bit painful and I noticed a considerable loss of movement....sitting down is more difficult.
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I've been wearing a hinged, neoprene Snow and Rock brace this season following an MCL injury and it does not inhibit the amount of movement your friend is suggesting. I'm an instructor and ski 6 days a week with it on. You notice your leg feeling a bit stiffer when you first put it on, but that is it.
Based on the last post, it may be an issue with sizing.
Hope you resolve the issue before she does someones ACL in.
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Not a fan of these things unless your knee is really unstable and then you might ask yourself if it is wise to go skiing anyway. Far far better to get the leg muscles to hold the knee in place rather than let braces and ligaments do the job. If she has problems getting on these things she might want to rethink her skiing preparation program. I'm not saying that everyne needs to be in the shape of their lives, but make as much effort as you can. It shouldn't be wasted.
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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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| JT wrote: |
| Not a fan of these things unless your knee is really unstable and then you might ask yourself if it is wise to go skiing anyway. Far far better to get the leg muscles to hold the knee in place rather than let braces and ligaments do the job. If she has problems getting on these things she might want to rethink her skiing preparation program. I'm not saying that everyne needs to be in the shape of their lives, but make as much effort as you can. It shouldn't be wasted. |
Very true. The neoprene only braces as sold by Snow and Rock are primarily used by people who've self-diagnosed themselves as needing them, genuine injuries will almost always need the external hinged versions mentioned by a couple of people. I think the neoprene only braces can do more harm than good, there's no substitute for good preparation as you say and cycling goes a long way.
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I was diagnosed by a sports injury physio after I could barely walk after stepping off the poma lift at work in November and the knee failing big time. After missing 6 weeks of work and then resuming only reduced hours for the next 6 weeks or so, I've been lucky to do any work at all. My physio was happy for me to try and go back to work but the fear was that ploughing was going to potentially stress the injury too much.
I was advised by my physio to tape or use a brace to help me get through the season. I always cycle but have also been doing the exercises set by the physio.
I don't like using the brace, but it has certainly helped. I stopped using it for a period of two weeks when I removed all the skin on my knee following a bike accident and started to get increased pain again.
I will be taking a month off shortly to settle the knee down and give it a good rest and to enjoy other sporting pursuits. When I put skis back on, I don't intend on wearing the brace.
So a very genuine injury and my physio and the use of a brace have got me through the season. When I go back to work on the dry slope after my month off, I don't intend on using a brace.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| snowaddict wrote: |
| So a very genuine injury and my physio and the use of a brace have got me through the season. When I go back to work on the dry slope after my month off, I don't intend on using a brace. |
So that's a short term limited use? I was really referring this tendency to self-diagnose a problem then wear a those supports for all time which I'm sure is going to do more harm than good.
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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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There are a couple of totally legitimate reasons to use a brace other than physical support IMO:
1. Providing confidence - you might argue this is illusory. OTOH, a lot of ACL injuries happen when someone gets in the back seat, which often happens when they lack confidence.
2. A brace helps prioproception (?sp) - that is your sense of where the joint is. You lose this sense after an ACL injury and have to do a lot of work to get it back. It's hard to describe, but wearing a brace does increase your sense of how bent your knee is and where it is generally.
Having said all of this, it has always been said to me that the ultimate aim of an ACL reconstruction and the rehab after is that you have a knee which is a near as dammit fully functional - you shouldn't need a brace if you have rehabbed properly.
Secondly, if she genuinely can't bend her knees enough to sit on a lift properly, either the braces are too tight, or she is suffering a severely restricted range of movement. If the latter is the case, my uneducated view is that she is probably putting a lot of unnecessary stress on the knee and ought to be having physio to get it sorted.
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Arno, I believe she's using it for reason number 1. She hasn't actually tried skiing without since the accident but doesn't complain of any problems doing any other sport.
She doesn't normally have a restricted range of movement, its all down to the braces. The braces also don't have holes over the kneecap so the kneecap must get pushed into the joint pretty hard as she bends down 
Her main things are windsurfing and sailing, I guess neither of these is actually hard on the knees.
I think she really needs to try skiing without, she could always carry them with her and put them on if she nedds to but if I persuade har and she hurts herself my life won't be worth living.
No more trips planned so I'll work on her for next year.
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You know it makes sense.
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rich, maybe you should just encourage her to have a session with a physio where she discusses this?
I actually popped in for a half hour with a physio myself yesterday - this is 18months after my ACL reconstruction. I was a bit worried about a wobble in my knee at the weekend. I'm quite glad I did because I got peace of mind that I hadn't damaged my knee again (phew!) but she also identified some stiffness in the knee and gave me a few exercises to deal with it. I think I'm going to book myself in for a check-up every 6 months or so just as an MOT-type thing. Makes sense to me because I want to be as active as I can on the knee, but I also want to avoid re-injuring it if I possibly can!
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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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Arno, Think you're right, she needs someone with a bit more authority than me to assess her.
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