Knee brace for hockey

[Havok19 0]

Ok i finaly have no choise then to get a knee brace for the rest of my career ... anyway anyone has some insight on wich knee brace that would be good for hockey (non contact) and that it will feel like it was not there (mcl torn)

Thx guys

[TBLfan 25]

Depends on how bad it is. I'd check with your doctor, they'd know best what your options are. Hope a non-hinged stabilizer will work over the beefy hinged brace.

[fatwabbit 93]

I've tried a few knee braces before:

- 3DX, customed, but very bulky especially at the hinges

- Innovation Sports CTI2, customed

- Innovation sports CTI2 hockey - customerd, this is specifically made for hockey. Company has since been bought by a huge medical company

- Innovation sport C180 - off the shelf, very low profile, solid enough but at a fraction of the price of custom.

I normally wear a neoprene sleeve, then the knee brace, and the shin pads on top of them. You need to ensure that the knee pads are wide enough to cover up the knee brace as well. You dont want the shin pads to be floating too far away from the knee/shin area. Taping down the shin pads is a plus.

The neoprene sleeve can be obtained from the doctor or from the company you get the knee brace from. I've found it to be a more comfortable option to having the knee brace against the bare skin... it does get a little hotter to play with, but the neoprene does add some comfort

[Havok19 0]

Its a stade one sprain no tear.So i am not sure if i need to go to the beefed up thing maybe something with a bit of lateral stabilizer might be good.

[jrhky36 1]

currently use a berg fusion xt and have no problems with it. was given a choice between the berg and a donjoy. went with the breg because it had a lower profile( the hinges were closer to the knee). and the donjoy b/c of the design could interfer with the tendon gaurd. so far no problem with it. i also wear it when coaching my son's baseball team. did have to widen my shingaurd slightly. when you go in to get fitted take you skate and shingaurd with you to check the fit with all of it. also if you don't have to get custom don't. going custom jacks up the price and is not worth it, the only difference is milimeters in size.

here is a link to the one i wear

http://www.breg.com/knee-bracing/ligament/fusion-xt.html

[fatwabbit 93]

The C180 is solid enough... I've got a torn ligament, about 90% of it is gone. Had to get a patella tendon graft done back in 97, rehab, then went back to playing competitive soccer and hockey till I strained my MCL in 2001. Rehab, and did some searching online for a knee brace. been using knee braces ever since.

[EBondo 233]

I use a DonJoy brace. Granted my brace is custom-fit, which all should be in my opinion, but it's worked well and I've had it since 2005. It's got so many rips and tears in it now I should get a new one, but they were extremely expensive if you didn't have a doctor's prescription.

Linky: http://www.donjoy.com/index.asp/fuseaction...il/cat/4/id/150

[tonguesOUT4life 17]

http://www.donjoy.com/index.asp/fuseaction...ail/cat/1/id/20

i use this one for a torn pcl.

[xstartxtodayx 343]

I've been using a CTi2 brace for years, it's a custom made brace so the fit is real good (it's not the hockey specific one but next time around I may look into that). At first any sort of brace is going to feel different, it's mostly psychological though, once you get over thinking about it you won't even notice it's there for the most part. I added a patella cup (knee pad) to my brace and then tore out the inner knee padding in my shinguard, this freed up a lot of room and the patella cup on the brace actually gave my knee more protection, other than that the brace is pretty streamlined and fit just fine inside my rbk shinguards.

Unfortunately a brace won't protect you from everything... just this past Friday I went down awkwardly and my knee bent sideways beneath me, there was a pop and since then I've had serious swelling and loss of movement, I don't know if the brace helped at all or not but I'd hate to know what may have happened without it (off to my Dr tomorrow and an orthopaedic in 2 weeks).

[fatwabbit 93]

the knee brace is just like any piece of protection... its supposed to minise injuries, not totally prevent them from happening. Every time you play, walk across the street, drive a car, there's always a risk. Its how you mitigate them to minimise the chances of injuries happening.

I too felt that it was psychological, but there have been many cases during hockey and soccer where I think my knees would have faired worse if not for the brace. In some cases my knee would have been hyperextended, but all I got was a little swelling. I would never play any competitive sports without it, and have even gotten another brace for my non-injured knee (now starting to give issues as well).

More preventative

[fastmiele 59]

Ok i finaly have no choise then to get a knee brace for the rest of my career ... anyway anyone has some insight on wich knee brace that would be good for hockey (non contact) and that it will feel like it was not there (mcl torn)

Thx guys

I think its better you go see a couple of physiotherapists and let them diagnos your situation and prescribe proper treatment. There is a big difference between wearing a neoprene knee brace and an actual knee brace.

One thing I do know now is you have to stregthen you ligament.

[tonguesOUT4life 17]

Ok i finaly have no choise then to get a knee brace for the rest of my career ... anyway anyone has some insight on wich knee brace that would be good for hockey (non contact) and that it will feel like it was not there (mcl torn)

Thx guys

I think its better you go see a couple of physiotherapists and let them diagnos your situation and prescribe proper treatment. There is a big difference between wearing a neoprene knee brace and an actual knee brace.

One thing I do know now is you have to stregthen you ligament.

i dont think its possible to strengthen a ligament. you have to strengthen the muscles around the damaged ligament. the only way to fix a ligament is surgury.

[fifthlinegoon 0]

Any recommendations for a torn ACL?

[tony1233 0]

Ok i finaly have no choise then to get a knee brace for the rest of my career ... anyway anyone has some insight on wich knee brace that would be good for hockey (non contact) and that it will feel like it was not there (mcl torn)

Thx guys

I think its better you go see a couple of physiotherapists and let them diagnos your situation and prescribe proper treatment. There is a big difference between wearing a neoprene knee brace and an actual knee brace.

One thing I do know now is you have to stregthen you ligament.

i dont think its possible to strengthen a ligament. you have to strengthen the muscles around the damaged ligament. the only way to fix a ligament is surgury.

you're correct! The only way you can help this is by wearing stabilizer braces whiche doesn't really help it just keeps you slightly safer and in less pain while you're wearing them or to have surgery. I've had a torn ACL for about three years now but, since I'm only 16 they won't do the surgery unless I completly blow it out. So I have mostly been using the neopyrene(sp) braces. The donjoys and other bigger braces were just too expensive and I can't wear them playing soccer. I used the smaller elastic braces for two years an finally realised their just more of a hinderance then a help, so I decided to just go andstrengthen my legs up, usually by running or skating minus the brace. Now I only have slight pain while running and skating whereas last year I could barely do either. If you want more info a great site is : www.kneegeeks.com

best of luck with your knee problems!

Tony

[t1tan 19]

- Innovation sports CTI2 hockey - customerd, this is specifically made for hockey. Company has since been bought by a huge medical company

I also have a custom made CTI2 Hockey by Innovative Sports/Össur, and although it is specifically made for hockey, there is no possible way I could fit it in any of the shin guards I've ever worn without severely modding and/or shaping them, which I'm not even willing to try. It is probably the most comfortable brace I've ever worn, but still causes pinching and discomfort. I am about to end up buying some neoprene and velcro to make some better straps that will cradle my leg in the brace rather than pinch.

I just wear it for support on a day to day basis depending on how my knees are feeling from my activity level and leave it in the locker room when I'm on the ice.

[jrhky36 1]

Any recommendations for a torn ACL?

ask your doctor. alot of guys on here like the CTi. my preference is the breg fusion xt (see my first post for a like). each one has its pros and cons. but only you will know which one is best for you.

are you having surgery?

[fatwabbit 93]

There isnt a way to strengthen the ligament, its strengthening the muscles around the knee. You will need to do a lot of leg exercises to bulk up... get to a physio to help you with that... leg lunges, squats, leg curls...

At one stage I was leg pressing about 400lbs (both legs) without any problems... till the physio challenged me to do 200lbs (both legs) and instead of just doing the squat, she told me to take 10 seconds from full leg extensions to a half squat position. After the 5th rep it nearly killed my legs. She said that if you do the exercise quickly it would not bulk up your muscles. Taking the time to do it slowly would flood your muscles, causing them to really really bulk up and work out.

As for the knee brace, I liked my CTi2, but found that the C180 did a good job, plus the C180 has a thinner profile to fit under the pads better.

[Sheabird_21 0]

i got the CTi and i have to say im not please with it at all, its chipping and has some alarming cracks in it and huge chunks taken out of it after only a year and a half. it wont stay up where it is supposed to and is a pain in the @$$ for me, currently working with nopco to get it replaced even through it is out of warranty

[Holden Caulfield 5]

Donjoy Defiance custom.

I play old shits hockey twice a week, no check, but skill level is still good.

Tore my ACL 20 years ago and had it repaired 5 years later. My knee aches if I don't wear the brace. It is low profile enough that a wide shin guard will fit over it and I pretty much forget about it while playing.

Is it the best, no idea, as I have only used the DonJoy (8 years) and an Orthotec (not made anymore) for 12 years before. Does it work well for me? - Absolutely.

HC

I use a DonJoy brace. Granted my brace is custom-fit, which all should be in my opinion, but it's worked well and I've had it since 2005. It's got so many rips and tears in it now I should get a new one, but they were extremely expensive if you didn't have a doctor's prescription.

Linky: http://www.donjoy.co...il/cat/4/id/150

EBondo:

Regarding your Donjoy custom - for 300 dollars, Donjoy will do a full refurbish - new straps, new resin, comes back like new - just go to their website for instructions. Only downside is that it takes about a week - so do it during a vacation or recuperation period.

HC

[fatwabbit 93]

Made the transition to the Donjoy Defiance 3 about 6 months ago, havent looked back. Its a nice brace, and fits me very well. Have now been called "Ironman" as the brace was made in a metallic red finish.