Knee Braces

I'm looking at gettin a knee brace. Mainly the Nevin Extreme brace, but there are no places around here that I can size them so I have no idea what size. I'm 5'11 155. Any suggestions?

Darin, All the Nevin type braces do is give a bit of comforting feeling in the brain. They do not really help with lateral stress. They will help prevent hyper-extension. The only braces which give true support are custom fitted from an orthopedidist. Best way to avoing knee injuries is to strengthen your legs.
The brace I used after knee surgery was by Townsend Design--- www.townsenddesign.com

Custom fit CTI2 from Innovation Sports, http://www.isports.com/by_cust.htm. WITH the ACL cable accessory.
About $900, but covered under most Durable Medical Equipment ins plans.
Had it for over a year, works awesome.
But like Steve said, leg strengthening goes a long way.

I highly recommend EVS braces....

www.evs-sports.com

Check out the Edge by Innovation sports. I just picked one up and it seems like it'll do a really good job. Retail is around $500, but check ebay - since they're off the shelf models (not custom made) you can buy used and get a good deal. I picked mine up for 70 USD shipped. It's in really good condition too.

Darin
the Nevin brace is great for a support brace but not for stopping you blowing out your acl.
I love my Extreme Nevin Brace I have a custom brace and only use it when snowboarding. The Neopreen( Spelling) is great for the water!
But the Hard Braces will help you prevent blowing out your knee. It's up to you! Bro!
www.nevinsports.com

OK, so maybe it would be better if I explained the injury to see what you guys think i would need in a brace.
I have a pretty severe MCL sprain and a slight tear in my cartilage, surgery depends on how well PT works for me, would only be scoped tho, so what do you think?

oh yea, it would probably be specifically used for wakeboarding unless it would work for other situations, I don't snowboard so that's not in the picture.

I use a brace from Townsend Design, probably the best thing that I could have done. Tons of support, hardly tell that its there, and great customer service. Totally recommend them to any one.

Some concerns about the new Nevin Extremes...
Nevin has traditionally made a very high quality product (made in USA), and I've always sworn by their quality, even as customer service repeatedly has been an area of weakness for them. I've used the Nevin Extreme knee braces for support for both snow and wakeboarding since about 1996 - can't ride without 'em or I have pain for days. I usually went through about one pair per year, which is fine because I put in a lot of days and like 'em tight and in good condition.
However... last year Nevin started outsourcing them to China, and they were all wrong, the fit was totally botched. I tried to discuss it with the owner (now former owner) at last year's Norcal boat show, and he kept trying to tell me that I was wrong about it and there was no difference. I was like, "dude... I've bought and used at least 10 or 12 of these over the years, and now they are totally different and suddenly have a 'made in China' tag on them." I finally had to take one out of the package on his display to get him to acknowledge the problems....
Then the company got bought out, but some of the former staff has stayed on. I telephoned this past fall and spoke with an employee who said that they had gone oversees to work with the outsourcing company and get the problem resolved. She said the new ones would be in "soon," but could not say when. She promised to have the product manager call me, but months passed and nothing. Their reps this year at the boat show had no clue. I offer all of this only as a warning... what once was an excellent product has had problems recently and may or may not ever be able to get it right again. It's a shame.

Meanwhile, my friends in ATL who started Ambush/Buywake (who formerly carrried Nevin) are now very stoked on the quality of the EVS product, which also sponsors Scott Byerly for braces. I'm gonna try the EVS for my next pair of braces.

I appreciate the suggestions from others, like the Townsend Designs, and I will probably take a look at these, as well.

To agree with Jason Payne and some others... strength training for your knees makes a HUGE difference, so if you have knee problems (especially if you are young), either hit the gym or find another sport!

Those EVS braces don't look like they would be very supportive. They look more like padding.

Doc
Do you own anything that is made in China? My Extreme knee braces from Nevin Fits great!
Manufactures go to China to save you money and Pass on the savings to everyone dealers and customers
Everyone has stuff made in China!
My opinion is that it works and Fits great!
I had ACL and MCL replacement surgery and it supports me fine. Physical therapy is Key
Build it stronger and you won’t need a brace!
The company that owns Nevin now is a Manufacture that has been making Wakeboard stuff for years for other manufactures that you most likely own in your boat today.

towsend, don joy and cti/asterik are all great options! i've been told by a spealist that the don joy brace is the best...

Chubby,
I'm very glad you like your Nevin Extreme knee braces, and I hope others find your opinions to be helpful.
I personally have nothing against China, nor Chinese products, and this forum is not one in which I feel the need to launch into a more general debate dealing with global economics.
From the aggressive and confrontational tone of your retort, it sounds as though you may have taken my comments personally, and I can't speculate as to why. Plus, after attacking my post, you followed up by repeating some of what I had written, so that leaves me a bit confused.
You should know that my experience with Nevin is extensive and goes way back, and I also know something of the history of GS2. Unlike many who post rash replies and harsh criticism within this forum, I always try to emphasize the positive, and that is what I attempted to do in my post. Notice that I said some nice things about the company's products. Based on my experience with Nevin, I could have written much, much, much more that would not have been so positive, including naming names and describing in detail the nature of my experiences. However, I chose not to do that. They are under new ownership, and I feel they deserve the benefit of the doubt that they will be able to clear up old problems and take the company in a positive direction from here. I cannot tell if you have ties to the company, but if you do, please tell the product manager that I still would welcome a response any time. If you do not have ties, then I guess I am at a loss as to why you took such a harsh tone in your response, when I was only trying to provide information to help guide others in making a well-informed decision. If you care to explain, I'll be glad to listen, and I'll decide whether we should continue this discussion in private or just let it drop.

Regards.

J-Rod ~ whatever man. I ride EVS braces for both snow & wake. They work great. To you they make "look" like just padding, but if you ever used one you would realize they are legit.

Dr Doc
I thank you for your input! I do not have ties with the company I just like the product because it fits me and I want someone to hear another opinion!
I am sorry to hear that you had a bad experience with them!
Everyone has problems with a generalized product! I had a bad experience with the largest wakeboard manufacturer. And now the product is much better!
I don't believe I was HARSH. And I am sorry that you took it that way! I apologize!
Keep up the good fight!

Don't take it personal buddy. Just saying, the good braces have metal hinges that allow natural movements and prevent side-side (unatural) movements that cause most knee injuries. Maybe the picture doesn't accurately showcase them.

not exactly sure which EVS brace you are trying to look at, but I ride the SX01's and they do have metal hinges on each side of them. If you go to the website and click on the SX01, SX02, RS7, or Web there is a picture along w/ the specs of each individual brace. However the best bet is probably finding an EVS dealer in your area & checking them out personally. The SX01 may be a great brace, but maybe somebody coming off ACL surgery would need something a little more like the Web.

Chub, no worries, mate. I am curious about your braces though... Would you mind telling when you purchased them, because some of the older good US-made ones were still circulating last year, and yours may have been some of these. Also, if you have them handy, please look on the little white tag on the inside where the size is indicated. Does it only indicate the size, or does it also say "Made in China?" If it doesn't specifically say "Made in China," then you have the older US-made ones, which are the ones I have always liked and I agree they are great. If you do have ones that were made in China and the fit is as good as you say, then it must be true that Nevin has fixed the problem, but it also must be true that you have acquired them very recently, like in the past month or two, which seems unlikely based upon the reading of your original post. If yours were from the first batch of Chinese ones that I was referring to, you would definitely know, because the hinges were placed too far around the back of the knee instead of on the sides, and also the velcro around the back was too long and had too much slack in it so that the braces could not be tightened. I am hopeful that these issues indeed have been corrected, but I have no way of knowing.
I am not trying to beat this issue into the ground, but I would like to know, because if/when Nevin gets them corrected back to the way they used to be, then I would consider taking another look at them. I never meant to bag on the company as a whole, I simply was disappointed that they took a great product (which I had come to depend upon) and made it dysfunctional. If you could provide more information about the ones that you have, I sure would appreciate it.

Anyway, I'm glad everyone on this thread is friends again... makes me wanna go ride a session in my fullsuit with no boardshorts... but wait, the full suit won't fit over the knee braces...

Doc
I got mine online at wakeside.com / called them and ordered it a couple of months ago and mine say made in china. Try them again ! I'm sure that wakeside or nevin will help you out if there are ant problems!

Anyone know of a brace that is better for reducing knee compression?

This is my problem.

No knee brace will reduce compression. Laws of gravity won't permit this.
One thing that I have learned about outsourcing products to certain regions of the world:
1) People usually don't understand the functionality if the product
2)Or they will use the people in that region as their model/ prototype for the fit.
No knee brace can stop anterior, posterior, lateral or rotational movement. It can only limit .
Human body/ Mother Nature is an interesting thing, you can't improve it. You can definitely make adjustments or modifications, but it just won't be the same.

A couple of years ago i did a ski season and somehow managed to tear the cartilage in my right knee. I wore a knee brace after the endless weeks of physio, this kinda helped but not much as it was internal and due to the compression of a landing from a big jump.

I now take this stuff called glucosamine, footballers/soccer players take it to strengthen/harden their cartilage. I take it in liquid form but you can also get tablets. You can get it in any phamacy e.g Boots (england).

(Message edited by harryhog on March 12, 2004)

I forgot to add, its also mean't to keep your joints supple aswell, like cod liver oil. So for a small amount of money you may be saving your knees. who knows

Let's not leave out Don Joy..... I tore my PCL last summer. According to the ortho this is not an injury that surgery can return to normal. Therefore, I have to live with my PCL being torn for the rest of my life. Talk about compression problems.

Without your PCL intact the ends of your femur and tibia tend to rub against each other when under pressure. I can't even lightly jog without pain. However, my ortho prescibed a custom fit Don Joy Defiance knee brace for me. It's in the same price range as the CTI, around $1000.

When I put it on I feel like I have a brand new knee. I can jump, run, and wakeboard without pain. Trust me, this brace does more than make my brain forget about the pain. Without it the pain is real. With certainty I will have to have knee replacement surgey in about 20 years after all my cartlidge has worn away from the ends of my bones rubbing together. Until then my Don Joy will extend my wakeboarding life just a little further.

One knock about the brace though..... often when riding the velco straps would come loose from being wet. To solve this I bought some snap (button) pliers and installed some snaps on the velcro. This did the trick in keeping the straps from coming loose while riding.

i assume you PCL is your cartilage? I think thats what i damaged but was lucky to get the problem sorted but i think its still there anyway.

Check this out for a bad future tho, my dad has lost his PCL altogether thro skiing since he was about 19 once a year. He's now 50.

I've been skiing since i was 4, boarding for 1 year (and can't see me stopping for a very long time), and running etc etc. so what i'm saying is, unless i find out how to stop it, i too will have no PCL probably by the time i'm 30.....

The PCL (posterior crucial ligament) is the ligament on the back side of your knee that connects the femur and tiba. This is a pretty thick and strong ligament which is very hard to tear. Most tears of this ligament occur when the lower part of your leg (below the knee) is pushed backward past the upper part of your leg (above the knee).

It is a common injury in football and in car accidents when your knee hits the dash board as you're thrown forward. My ortho says it's pretty rare to see this injury from wakeboarding. He said I was his first.

Since this ligament is so thick it is very diffcult to repair it. It can be done, but most likely it will not bring your knee back to it's original strength. That's why they don't typically repair it. Not worth the risk of invasive surgery to get little in return.

ah, thats not the one i'm talking about with me and my dad, its the actual cartilage (the stuff that stops your two bones hitting). He's lost all of that so he's now got no bearing in his knee.

Thats what i've got to look forward to, can't wait.

That townsenddesign site had OA braces - I believe these braces are designed to take load off of the joint.

Osteoarthritis Bracing Solutions

Richard, which DJ brace did you get?

http://www.djortho.com/products/DonJoy/physdistrep/categories.asp

Dane,

I have the defiance. It is very light weight and fits like a glove. Looks very similar to the townsenddesign pictured above.