Knee Injuries *What do You do To Protect Them?*

[DoublinUp 0]

I tore my ACL and MCL on my Left knee! I havent played hockey on my knee yet (its been close to 3 years) ive skated on it a couple times and felt a little discomfort when it got cold... any suggestions?

[big_bt 0]

hmm you might want to try looking at a brace?

my co-worker dislocated his knee and messed it up bad, and now he wears a brace when he plays.

[DoublinUp 0]

d oyou know what kind of brace he uses?

[team50 20]

I use a custom Don Joy ACL brace.

[interpathway 9]

I know at least one member here heats up his shinguards' plastic and molds them to fit over a brace. If you get one you'll probably want to look into this.

[fatwabbit 93]

I wear Innovation Sports C180 braces (off the shelf) on both my knees beneath my shin pads. They are lower profile but are solid enough to take big hits (indoor soccer and hockey). I've also got a CTI2 custom brace, but its a little more bulky than the C180s.

[pisani34 10]

i've also got a "gross knee instability" (partially torn acl/pcl/mcl)

my initial injury was playing soccer when i stepped into a hole running full speed and my knee bent backwards. I've reinjured it a few more times playing basketball, the most recent just last month, so ive finally looked into a brace. i got fitted at a knee specialist place called "karl hager" in edmonton, they do most of the braces for the oilers (ryan smyth's old brace is in their store) and our CFL team too. I think that getting a custom donjoy would be almost the same thing, but the brace itself they said was made for hockey players and it only weighs about 450g and will fit under shin guards as its pretty thin. Finally im going to be able to have some stability in my knee back, i've been playing hockey for about a year with a weakened/instable knee, hopefully this does the trick.

oh and as for your problem of it getting a bit sore from the coldness of the ice? i find that if i go to stick & puck with just track pants or w/e, when im done, i can feel my knee get a bit sore because of the cold, however, when playing in a game with equipment, my shin guards usually keep my knee quite warm, so i've never really had any discomfort there....maybe just try skating with shin guards and socks on?

[xstartxtodayx 343]

I partially tore my ACL several years ago and had it operated on to remove the torn starnds since they were floating into the joint, so now it's still partially torn but nothing is loose inside (hopefully). My doctor had me get a fancy knee brace ansd told me I had to wear it whenever I played any sports so I've been wearing it for hockey for some time now. It's the CTi2 knee brace and it's pretty comfortable, lightweight, and isn't really too bulky for me. I've been wearing it for hockey, snowboarding and mtn biking so it gets a lot of use. I got the patella cup they offer which just attaches to the knee brace and is basically just a plastic knee pad, it was great for snowboarding and mtn biking and for hockey it actually worked out real good too. I had to tear out the foam knee padding inside the shinguard to fit the knee brace, which was fine since I had that patella cup on the brace already, after that my old Jofa shinguards fit just fine over the brace (I just got some new Rbk 4k's and I removed the knee foam and also had to trim a part that goes under the knee on the shinguard so the brace would sit flush).

[top 1974 0]

A custom brace will do well in preventing further injury, but you should look into a good balance board to enable quality proprioception training. I suffered a grade 2 MCL sprain January last year. Physio therapy helped, but I purchased the extreme balance board. I used the board immediately after physio, and 2-4 times a day for 5 minutes at a time. My full recovery was less than 3 weeks, where a typical grade 2 sprain is 6-8 weeks.

Now I use the board exclusively when doing squats and medicine ball work. It has helped my skating, and more importantly, no clicking or cracking in my ankles, knee's and hips.

Here is an article about proprioceptive training for ACL recovery/injury prevention for an Italian soccer team. The results speak for themselves:

http://www.soccercoachingnotes.com/coachin...for-soccer.html

Good luck going forward...

[thecat1792 0]

Sorry to hear about the injury! Definitely consult a doc on this, you only get two knees. When I was in the Corps I saw some vicious knee injuries that ended some careers so take care of yourself. I would certainly think it's a good idea to spend extra time warming up and then stretching before you play. Never stretch cold. Take it easy and come back slowly.

[JohnnyCanuck 0]

Sorry to sound a bit non-chalant or whatever, have you looked at getting your knee scoped and fixed rather than trying to play on a wonky knee?

I am waiting for my surgery at the moment, I had my MRI and it shows meniscus damage and a slight ACL tear. I am still playing, just with a wrap around brace that has the buttresses in the side that prevents hyper-extension.

I am a bit sore going to bed after hockey, and the knee is spongy the next day, but i can play.

I haven't got the news on when I am going under the knife (A scope actually isn't major surgery, but you know what I mean) but the surgery route should be looked at, afterall, like a poster above said, you only get two knees...

[DoublinUp 0]

Sorry to sound a bit non-chalant or whatever, have you looked at getting your knee scoped and fixed rather than trying to play on a wonky knee?

I am waiting for my surgery at the moment, I had my MRI and it shows meniscus damage and a slight ACL tear. I am still playing, just with a wrap around brace that has the buttresses in the side that prevents hyper-extension.

I am a bit sore going to bed after hockey, and the knee is spongy the next day, but i can play.

I haven't got the news on when I am going under the knife (A scope actually isn't major surgery, but you know what I mean) but the surgery route should be looked at, afterall, like a poster above said, you only get two knees...

i did have surgery on my knee! the only thing is that little bit of discomfort in the cold! is that common?

[pisani34 10]

i would say that the discomfort is common if its cold (like if your only in track pants or jeans on the ice). This happens to me as well, but when i play in games where i wear full equipment, like i said, the shin guards and socks help to keep my knee warm, and i don't usually have any discomfort.

oh and johnny canuck....any idea as to how long the recovery is on arthroscopic surgery? i've got "gross knee instability" but my physio people havent really referred me to any surgery, but i wouldn't mind starting to research it....so far after my latest mcl sprain, im going to be using a custom made brace for the my instabilities, but like i said, i might look into the surgery too.

[DoublinUp 0]

yeah, ive only been to public skate sessions. i wanted to feel out my knee...it felt great other than the little bit os stifness from the cold! BTW i was wearing jeans

[JohnnyCanuck 0]

I have been told my recovery shouldn't be any longer than 6 weeks till I'm back at full pull because all they are doing to me is cutting away the meniscus where it is torn (in two places) to prevent further tearing, they are doing nothing, at the moment anyways, to the slight tear in my acl. They are scoping me because the tears are causing massive swelling everytime I do something more than walking on it. No amount of anti-inflammatories helps. They have to cut me now or they would be doing it down the road anyways.

If they do any stiching, grafting, or sutchering your recovery is much longer, and you also have to wait for grafts to come together. I had one buddy from soccer be out for over a full year with his (An MCL and ACL) and another get back in 3-4 months (ACL only)

Everybody is different, has different injuries, and heals differently and rehabs more or less seriously and under differing types of supervision.

i would say that the discomfort is common if its cold (like if your only in track pants or jeans on the ice). This happens to me as well, but when i play in games where i wear full equipment, like i said, the shin guards and socks help to keep my knee warm, and i don't usually have any discomfort.

oh and johnny canuck....any idea as to how long the recovery is on arthroscopic surgery? i've got "gross knee instability" but my physio people havent really referred me to any surgery, but i wouldn't mind starting to research it....so far after my latest mcl sprain, im going to be using a custom made brace for the my instabilities, but like i said, i might look into the surgery too.

depending on where you are and what is available to you, you may be best served going into a private clinic and paying for an MRI for a specialist to see if there is damage to muscle, ligaments, or tendons. If that is the case surgery might be the road, maybe not.

I know a guy that did a different way where he was getting frequent and incredibly painful injections in his knee with a fat, sugars, and other crap that basically promoted tissue growth, then he did hard rehab for a year to re-build the muscles, all to avoid a knee surgery.

Some people have weak and shaky knees due to the way they grew through their teenage years, my doc says, and some folks just have loose/sloppy knees that could benefit from surgery (but only if it becomes a quality of life issue)

and of course your physio's are not going to refer you to a surgeon, they would be losing a repeat customer ;)

[jrhky36 1]

check with your dr or physical therpist and they can guide you.

had a complete tear in 97. have had no problems since. i don't even feel weather changes. i do not wear a brace the doctor refused to give me one because he did not belive in them. i was scared at first when i got back, but after about a month the scared feeling went away. i wish you the best of luck in your rehab, and a speedy return.

[biff44 0]

I would do all the exercises that I could to strengthen the muscles, ligaments, and tendons that keep the knee together BEFORE I set foot on the ice! Stuff like:

Balance on one foot for one minute

Balance on one foot on unstable surface

One legged body-weight squats from a platform

lunges with dumbells

Cable pull behind the knee

I would stay away from abusive stuff, like leg extension machines.

I would not try to stretch it much--you want it tight

I would also make darned sure my shin guards were well taped to my legs when playing. You do not want them moving off of your knees if you hit something.

[ddpatc 0]

I would do all the exercises that I could to strengthen the muscles, ligaments, and tendons that keep the knee together BEFORE I set foot on the ice! Stuff like:

Balance on one foot for one minute

Balance on one foot on unstable surface

One legged body-weight squats from a platform

lunges with dumbells

Cable pull behind the knee

I would stay away from abusive stuff, like leg extension machines.

I would not try to stretch it much--you want it tight

I would also make darned sure my shin guards were well taped to my legs when playing. You do not want them moving off of your knees if you hit something.

Machines and machine based weights and devices are exceptional, they allow you to use them and NOT train yourself into a further injury start slow and with supervision of a professional.

the only way the joint stays tight is with proper strength and elasticity it must be flexible to remain supportive. A tight joint or set of tissues tears when taken to it's extreme and I know of no athlete that can stop a situation mid stream to save spraining, straining or tearing the tissue.

See your Dr ask for a referral to a physio or an athletic therapist

[Ozzman 0]

I partially tore my ACL too, playing hockey. I had an MRI done and they gave me this brace to wear when ever I play sports.

http://www.dme-direct.com/cti-knee-brace-braces-ots/

It's been doing really well. I rub some Bio-Freeze on the knee, wrap it with an Ace bandage, put the brace on, then my gear on top of that and play. I haven't had any problems yet. *knock on wood*

I've also used the brace snowboarding. I took a couple of big spills, but it held up ok. The knee was sore later that day, but tolerable.

I don't have issues with cold weather or any tightness though.

[JohnnyCanuck 0]

What did they tell you about your partially torn ACL?

I just had my visit with my orthopaedic surgeon.

I have two tears in my Meniscus and a partially torn ACL.

When I have my scope for the Meniscus damage they say they are going to "assess the ACL" then when I wake up deliver the news to me on it.

That way I don't wake up from the sleep thinking I have a 6 week recovery ahead of me walking out of the place only to look down at a cast and a 6-12 month recovery after they just go ahead an perform an ACL repair without my knowing.

Do Partial tears recover on their own? Are they forever partially torn?

seriously, linaments, rubs, braces, and advil are truly only papering over the cracks treating the symptoms and not the problem.

After skating this morning in pickup I had too much swelling on my knee and had to eat a bottle of advil to help the inflammation...two ice times tomorrow :lol:

[jrhky36 1]

hey do not repair themselves. my untrained medical advise is to get the acl repaired thru sugery. you may be unable to play for 6-12 months but when your older it'll take even longer to heal. beside if you have kids you'll be able to do more with them after you get your acl repaired.

[fatwabbit 93]

I got my ACL torn during a military exercise (compulsory national service). The doc told me that with a reconstruction it would enable me to return to almost anything, but without the recon I would have a 60% chance of reinjury.

Went thru the scope, recon, and 6 months of almost strangling the physiotherapist.

I've had a few knee braces before

- Innovation sports CTI2 custom, didnt fit very well, and didnt really do much for me

- 3DX (cant remember the manufacturer), fit nicely, but the hinges were really bulky

- Innovation sports CTI2 hockey (customed brace for hockey), fitted better than the first, and still have it workign 5 years on

- currently using two innovation sports C180 knee braces. Cheaper off the shelf, but still able to take the hard knocks of hockey and indoor soccer. Lower profile than the CTI2, and feels a little lighter as well. I wear the 'oversleeve' under the knee brace. Its basically a 2mm thick neoprene sleeve that is supposed to be worn over the brace. I wear it under the brace for comfort. It gets a little warm, but the brace doesnt slide all over the place.

One thing about the Innovation Sports braces... the plastic part that covers the hinge tend to pop off if you 'clip' one side on the other (meaning banging one of the braces against the other during movement). One way to prevent this is to install the hinge protectors... these are normally for those on bikes that dont want the braces to scuff up the graphics on the bike. I'll try to take photos when I get back home.