Knee Braces as a Preventative Measure?

[RonMexico]

Do any of you out there use knee braces simply as a preventative measure, and not because of prior injury?

I've seen a lot of pros sponsored by/sporting knee braces by companies like Cti and Asterik and I wonder if this is because they have had injuries in the past or are simply looking to prevent them going forward.

Seeing some of the awful tomahawks and failed switch landings these guys go through, I've got to imagine they're all wearing them, sponsored or not. Am I off base with this?

Not that I'm throwing anything near the size of what these guys do, but knowing my knee isn't going to blow up on a failed landing could help inspire a lot more confidence. Wondering if anybody else has thought the same thing...

[tahoe_rider]

Definitely some good points for and against wearing braces as a preventative measure. Most of the athletes that you see wearing these braces are wearing them because of existing injuries.

Personally I have braces but rarely wear them they are bulky and are a pain in the ass. There is a huge population of people that argue by wearing a brace without existing injuries you can actually end up hurting yourself more because you lose strength and mobility......

[backcountry1pr]

I have a set of Asterisk braces I wear on big days. Dont wear them all the time. Never had knee injuries. They do inspire confidence, which is what I like about them.

[Beyond]

Hate to rain on the parade, but there's an established medical literature that knee braces do not prevent initial injury. Shearing of ligaments and cartilage happens too fast, and over too small a range of motion, for a brace. What braces do help with is stabilizing already damaged knees, reducing articular contact if you're missing cartilage, slowing down the development of OA, limiting lateral motions that could further stretch already loose ligaments. I use a Donjoy for those purposes, also popular with the U.S. ski team.

And that's with serious braces, Rx and all that, individually made for your leg. Anything else is just psychological support.

[lurk]

Yep ^^^^ my surgeon pretty much said the same. But I wear a set of CTI braces one with an attachment to the boot (home made). I can ski without them but I get way too much movement in my knee to feel comfortable.

[bridge]

I wear a brace because of an existing injury, I dont really need it anymore, but its one of those mental things I think. Wearing a brace might have the same a effect as always wearing a back brace while lifting weights, you'd be building all of the muscle around the brace but not the muscles being braced, setting yourself for constant back problems. Plus I dont think wearing a brace on a good knee would do much if anything in a nasty, slow twisting fall.
The only athletes I have noticed wearing braces as a preventitive meause is NCAA and some NFL lineman. But I think they're more for supporting and 350+ pound frame while pushing around other 350 pounders.

[Stikki]

3rd on what Beyond said.

And the football linemen wearing braces is a supposed preventative measure for when someone falls/rolls up sideways on your lower leg. Being a hinge joint the knee doesn't tolerate lateral movement. Not sure if they've had any success with this.

And to the original poster, one thing to consider would be wearing neoprene knees sleeves. They won't prevent injury but they will help maintain warmth in the joint and add a little bit of padding.

[RonMexico]

I had thought much along the same lines, but seeing some of the beaters these guys take I figured they had to be wearing something or their knees would be shredded to shit.

I know a lot of these braces are cross-sold to the motocross industry and was under the impression that they are almost strictly a preventative measure there, so thought it might also be the case with skiing.

[Jer]

There is a huge population of people that argue by wearing a brace without existing injuries you can actually end up hurting yourself more because you lose strength and mobility......

This is the concensus I hear from MX guys. I personally don't know any skiers who wear them as a preventative measure.

[Jethro]

This is the concensus I hear from MX guys. I personally don't know any skiers who wear them as a preventative measure.

I don't ride motocross courses, but I do ride a lot of hard single track. I do not wear any braces, but if I got them cheap I might. The only reason I might wear them is to prevent some awkward straight leg injury. Some braces can have their degree of motion adjusted to keep you knee from locking straight. This might happen if you take your inside foot off the peg in a sharp turn or land an air with a straight leg (which no one does). They also have a protective floating cup over the kneecap and good lateral impact protection.

[Alexander1310]

3rd on what Beyond said.

And the football linemen wearing braces is a supposed preventative measure for when someone falls/rolls up sideways on your lower leg. Being a hinge joint the knee doesn't tolerate lateral movement. Not sure if they've had any success with this.

And to the original poster, one thing to consider would be wearing neoprene knees sleeves. They won't prevent injury but they will help maintain warmth in the joint and add a little bit of padding.

Beyond hit it right on the nose.

I can say to Stikki that there is a huge success with lineman knee braces. I played on two different teams in college with one team requiring it, and the second team not requiring them until there was a coaching change. There were less knee injuries and especially catastrophic injuries worn with the braces. That's definitely due to legs being supported while rolled up from behind or the side.

I am also a two time blown ACL player; Right knee torn in high school and left knee torn in college through football, not skiing. With the first knee I wore a brace and the second time I did not wear a brace afterwards or during rehab. I noticed a huge difference in psychological barriers and definitely returned back quicker without the brace.

Me being a telemarker, I due wear an impact pad for the various obvious reasons of not wanting to blow up my knee while hitting a submerged object when off piste, but I wear them all the time actually. I've looked at the Asteriks braces more and more now. Strained and torn MCLs is actually a common injury to telemarkers and I tweak one knee each year it seems. Plus the padding on the asteriks would serve the same purpose I already need and want. But I'm not sure I'd wear them all the time if I had them. The only factor that would nudge me to wear them all the time is the price that I would have to pay to get them. Right now I'll throw on a sleeve if I have a little tweak to give some compression support on the MCL, but I won't wear anything until then.

My opinion is don't use braces as much as you can, and no need prior to an injury; they're just preventative for a repeat injury. Keep your hamstrings strong and flexible and your knees will go further and longer.