 Poster: A snowHead
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I'm having a bit of a shocker. Meant to be off skiing tmrw but airport here is closed and Gatwick is also touch and go. Worst of all my physio ordered a knee brace for me ages ago but they've just had a proper mare with it and it hasn't turned up and I can't see it arriving tomorrow. So I am going to have to ski without the brace, physio said he will strap the knee, has anyone tried this as an alternative to a brace? Oh and my f¥cking lid has gone AWOL as well! On the plus side though did manage to find an awesome fartbag at Oxfam today so at least I'll look the b0llox!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Gsyfreerider, hi, my advice, take great great care if you are going to ski without it. What was your injury. I did a partial acl and without the brace for half a season, it was very bad when I tried to ski and I put myself back by trying. Hard lesson to learn, after that I did as the doc said and now knee is good. If doc says you must wear it, then the strapping will not be enough even though my physio thought it would be. At least that is what I found out the hard way. Hope that helps. Sorry not good news.
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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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Gsyfreerider, I use a neoprene brace with 2 metal hinges at the sides from a local sports shop (in J bean land!) recommended by local sports injuries consultant (I have a "loose" knee after tearing ACL last december) Gatwick may be closed again tomorrow morning, go on condor and train up?
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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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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I'm the same Carroz, a 4 strap brace with two carbon hinged arms on the inside and outside of the knee to help stabilise to stop over extension of the knee. After cycling extensively for a couple of years i was able to get rid of it which was brilliant.
...However, last summer with work mounting I wasnt getting out on the bike and in Feb this year i did a day of skiing in Quebec whilst on a business trip. With less fitness, i slipped on boilerplate ice and bu**ered my MCL. The swelling was terrible and i haven't been able to do much else since. just doing strength work to give some extra confidence WITH the brace for a trip in Jan and hoping its going to bear up well now the swelling has gone.
If you should have a brace and are thinking of going without, think hard or find a compromise brace off the shelf which might offer more protection than just heavy strapping - it'll save you months of annoyance and frustration if you happen to fall believe me.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Depends what the brace is for. If the physio said they can 'strap' the knee, maybe they can and show you how to do this in leiu of the brace (do they mean taping into position?). Don't know. (realises, not helpful)
Good luck anyway. 
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kittya, I am coming back from an ACL reconstruction so was advised it would be best to ski with a brace. I told the physio I needed a plan B so he suggested strapping and will show me how to do it.
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Everyone's different - I stopped using my Donjoy after about 2 days skiing as I wasn't enjoying the restriction.
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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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I used a brace for my first couple of times back on skis but got rid in the end. my physio was always of the opinion that the whole point of the operation and physio was to get you back to doing what you were doing before the injury in the way you were doing it before the injury. guess it depends on how far into rehab you are
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My surgeon said don't bother with a brace; so I didnt.
Arno, yes, the idea is the ACL repair is as good as the original, and the physio keeps the muscles strong and active enough to support.
I am a ltiile worried about doing 'what i was before' because that led to the accident. I would like to know what habit I was/am in that makes me damage my ACL.
Oh yes - the habit of throwing myself down mountains with planks and heavy boots on.!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Its a bit of a question of how strong you feel your knee is and whether you think you are personally ready to ski without a brace. If you have had successful surgery and physio and feel your leg is strong you should be more than capable of skiing without a brace, but might choose to wear one for piece of mind. The standard of skier you are probably is an important factor to consider as well, if you are a strong skier with good technique you will stand more chance of looking after your knee and not having problems.
When I was on a season I hurt both my knees when I screwed up on a kicker at the end of December 2007, stupidly didn't have medical insurance as I was skint so didn't go to the doctors in France and didn't know the extent of the injuries. I rested and hobbled around on borrowed crutches for about 3 weeks and then skied the rest of the season wearing off the shelf neoprene knee braces with metal bars on each knee. Obviously I realised I had some kind of serious injury and my knees were weaker than they should have been but I was still hitting the off piste and park pretty hard all season, including hitting spins and flips.
When I came back at the end of the season I went to see my GP who told me that I definitely hadn't torn any ligaments as I wouldn't have been able to ski at all even on piste, and he thought I'd just twinged something. I eventually convinced him to put me forward for an MRI scan anyway and guess what, when the results came back I had completely sheared my ACLs in BOTH knees, and also damaged the cartilage in my right knee - so I skied for nearly 4 months at least 5 days a week with no ACLs at all! I then had ACL reconstruction surgery using part of my hamstrings on both knees at the same time, took probably a full year to fully recover with physio (funnily enough it was my hamstrings they had robbed that were the weak point not the knees!). Went skiing the next year wearing my cheapy neoprene braces, no problems at all, after a few days I decided to take them off and haven't worn them since.
What have I learnt?
- Always get medical insurance
- Don't trust your GP
- Surgery takes a long time to recover from and physio sucks
- It is perfectly possible to ski with no ACLs!
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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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| Treacle wrote: |
What have I learnt?
- Always get medical insurance
Yep
- Don't trust your GP
Unless they've had extensive Ortho or sports injry experience. Physio either - I've had them diagnosing illio-tibial band syndrome when it was a torn ACL. In fact don't trust your consultant until you've had an MRI as
- Surgery takes a long time to recover from and physio sucks
Yep
- It is perfectly possible to ski with no ACLs!
definitely but also an individual thing (maybe connected to muscle bulk)
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