 Poster: A snowHead
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Last year I got a small medial meniscus tear in my left knee whilst skiing. It has been sorted with physio and a good deal of cycling. I suspect the main issue was down to age (nearly 60), not being quite as fit as I should have been and a bit of arthritis! My physio says no issue going skiing again but keep clear of heavy snow and big moguls, he does not think a knee brace would really help but I am not so sure. Any thoughts about what sort of knee brace might be helpful?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I used a knee brace after a little medial collateral ligament injury for a year. A hinged alloy unit, but to be honest they don't really provide much support. What made the difference a few years later was doing 8 weeks of intensive physio to build up and restabilise the surrounding muscles. I've never had a problem since then.
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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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@munich_irish, when getting over one of my meniscus tears (can't remember which one!) about 4 years ago I received a helpful tip from Jonathon Bell, Snowheads in house knee surgeon. He doubted the benefits of knee braces other than the fancy exoskeleton expensive jobbies. He recommended a close fitting support one as they may assist with proprioception. Did me no harm and I still use if either knee is feeling sore.
More important though is endless leg, bum and core strengthening and get really fit and strong. I was much younger than you (57) when I did my last one. Because I put a bonkers amount of effort into getting strong before and during the season, I still did about 40 days after the Doc at the MRI scanner in Albertville had insisted I return home immediately for surgery (or risk certain death or worse)! Almost another 250 days skiing and tens of thousands of metres of uphill and that knee is hanging in there.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I get a lot of knee pain and swelling and have meniscus damage.
Weight loss and exercise certainly help but so does the ski mojo.
Not cheap but makes a big difference to my skiing comfort.
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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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@munich_irish, ...
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helpful tip from Jonathon Bell, Snowheads in house knee surgeon. He doubted the benefits of knee braces other than the fancy exoskeleton expensive jobbies. He recommended a close fitting support one as they may assist with proprioception. Did me no harm and I still use if either knee is feeling sore.
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from @HammondR
+1
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More important though is endless leg, bum and core strengthening and get really fit and strong.
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from @HammondR,
+1
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Weight loss and exercise certainly help
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from @T Bar,
+1
I use either a simple, fairly thin, neoprene 'compression' type support.
Or sometimes a slightly heavier duty neoprene support that adjusts for fit with strong Velcro straps.
I was fortunate to try a ski mojo for a day on a Bash. I got on well with it but felt it addressed different leg issues to my torn meniscus.
Risk I fear most is sudden heavy sideways pressure on my damaged meniscus. As you say, moguls, heavy snow or hard rutted snow cause most angst and pain.
I suspect benefits of these supports are marginal, to be honest. Nevertheless, a reassuring psychological comfort and also helps keep the knee slightly warmer through insulation maybe??
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@munich_irish I can sympathise, I damaged my port side medial meniscus about 3 seasons ago.
I did it in the Hemmel Fridge so I was not wearing my MoJo kit, it took from
October the 16th till the end of Jan 2017 before I could ski again.
I was just a kid of 68 then, so it healed pretty quick.
But I'll wear the MoJo thingys when I ski now .. the skiers answer to the Stannah Stair lift.
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As others have said my physio just recommended a sleeve type support.
I also found having it kinesiology taped helped.
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The ski mojo thing looks interesting. There is no doubt my knees have the odd creak and anything that helps keeping up the skiing must be a good thing. I have no issues cycling 70km or so a day often cycle 20km each way into work in the summer but the knees do suffer a bit when walking in the mountains especially downhill. Until last year I had no specific knee issues with skiing though no doubt I am slower than I used to be especially on the lumpy stuff.
Any ideas about fitting, not sure about simply buying from the internet, London I can sort but all the retailers seem out of town. The nearest spot seems to be near Cambridge but they appear to sell hot tubs and decking with a small side line in ski supports.
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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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@munich_irish,
If you're looking at the mojo it doesn't need fitting you adjust it yourself and it comes in two forms according to weight.. Personally I suspect it is good for meniscii because it takes some of the loading away from the knee and it goes through the mojo instead.
I can generally cycle pretty well without problems like you it is walking downhil and skiing which tend to aggravate it, though when I first did it , hilly cycling was undoubtedly a problem and even now plenty of hills aggravate it.
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@munich_irish, have a look at Asterisk braces if you want to go that route. They are super adjustable and super supportive. I got one when my knee flared up and it got me through the season. That said, taking up cycling was the long term fix
As other have said, a simple sleeve is good for prioproception (or whatever the word is) and just keeping the area a bit warmer. Worth a try before splashing out in and expensive brace
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@munich_irish,
Take it from me as an Msk physio, fellow skier and someone who has a degenerative lateral meniscus herself that the Ski Mojo is absolutely amazing. I learnt about it from acquaintance and initially thought it was a bit of a joke, but after skiing in February & March 2019 with an alternative brace (good one and not cheap) with pain every day, even with anti-inflammatory meds, I decided I needed to do something!
I 'test drove' a Mojo @ Chill Factore in Manchester for 2 hours. It sounds odd but felt like I was skiing from my armchair initially, so comfortable and took out all the ski chatter across the slope and moguls which really stirs up my knee pain. This armchair feeling disappeared quickly and I settled into the Mojo. Disengaging it a couple of times made me feel I gained 2 stone immediately - switched on again quickly 
Upshot - I bought one and not looked back during my skiing in December 19 in Obergurgl. No pain, no medication. Even had some spectacular falls and the Mojo seemed to protect my knees during them as I felt it wouldn't allow the joint to twist to breaking point... i.e that point where the ACL +/- meniscal injury occurs.
OK, a 'boggy knee' issue one night due to a long day, but an ice pack or 2 in the evening and I was up for another full day on the slopes.
I definitely say if you have knee issues then the Mojo is for you. Even my 24 Yr old daughter will be getting one for her holiday.
Try one out first at the various snow centres if you aren't convinced and let me know! See the Ski Mojo website for the sites that participate.
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