Knee Brace Strugglezone 2004

Could someone riding with a custom knee brace (ACL reconstruction etc) help me solve this problem. I ride with a DonJoy Defender and i always have problems with the straps blowing off from the water htting them. If that isn't enough it seems to aways be slipping and creeping down. this kills the fun when you are always bending over to yank the brace back up. Does anyone have a suggestion or sould suggest a different brace i should look into picknig up.
thanx
jeremy
ps i heard CTI makes a good brace is this true?

I have a CTi2 and have never had ANY problems wakeboarding including slipping, loosening, coming off, or anything else. There's no trick to it. I guess it must be the brace.

BTW, Innovation Sports is the maker and CTi2 is the model. http://www.isports.com

hmmm keep asking ive heard things about this...... i personally dont need one so i dont know but the infos around somewhere......

thanx!!!
keep the comments coming i would appreciate any other comments others have to offer.

my Brother in-law has an insurance paid ultimate knee brace (mega bucks carbon fiber etc) I will find out what type it is but my point is that it came with a sock that you put on over it and under it. Seems like a simple solution that would keep the preassure from poping the velcro. I think it is made of spandex or som other highly flexible material.



(Message edited by marcaq on June 24, 2004)

I ride wearing a donjoy defender. Once in a while a strap will come loose.

I was told to sit, and keep my knee at a 90 degree angle when I put the brace on. I was also told to keep the hinge just above the center of my knee cap when I put it on, so it would slip a bit and be perfect.

You could get a neoprene sleeve or something like that made???

I too heard good things about the CTI

I have the CTi2 from innovation sports. I ride at 100% wearing the brace, and it has been less than 10 months since I blew out my ACL, MCL, and meniscus. I still haven't had reconstructive surgery, so my brace is whats holding my knee together. The CTi2 doesn't slip, move, the straps won't come loose, etc. I do use a slightly different upper shin strap than standard. It was like an optional upgrade, I think. What it is is the shin pad connected to like a 3 inch wide velocro strap that goes around my upper shin just below the knee, and the normal strap tightens over it. Lots of guys probably use them. I will try and post a pic so you can see it.

i wore my cti2 for 1.25 years (wake and snow) and the velcro was getting loose and loosing hold. it would slide down and be a pain when riding. i quit wearing it for this reason but my friend who lost his cti is currently wearing it. he may order new straps. when i wore my brace it was super comfortable and supportive.

kb

I have worn the same CTI2 Brace since 1996. Every year or two I send it back and they refurb it with new velcro and hardware (whatever is needed) and even repaint it if I want. Its around $50 to $120 but makes the brace like new again. CTI also sells a sock to go over the brace to keep the water from opening the straps on impact.
New velcro wont open much on impact.

I wear evs knee braces when I ride but, that is on bikes not boards.

I replaced the velcro straps on my brace with ratchet straps from snowboard bindings. It took some work, but now they don't move at all when I wakeboard. I'll try and post some pics when I get home.

Later,
jjakober

Here are the Pics of my modified knee brace.







I didn't change the top and bottom strap because with the ratchet straps in place the top and bottom aren't really important to making it stay put.

later,
jjakober

I just received word that I have a torn ACL. I was wondering if it is okay to still ride with a brace? I go to the sports med dr on friday the 9th to get the options. I didn't know that was one of the choices.

Most Knee braces have neoprene lining. When wet ( ie sweat) will slide some. Velcro on many items aren't indutrial strength.
So here are a few things to try:

Wear a neoprene sleeve under your brace. It will add some more bulk and greater surface tension area for contact.
Modify your knee brace with heavy duty industrial strength velcro ( yes it does exist) Knees braces weren't designed to take impact as this. But I'm sure if you get a custom knee brace - tell the Orthotist or rep who does the cast molding and ask if they can put on stronger velcro.

I have a Donjoy Defender and the trick is to go to Home Depot and purchase some rubber o-rings. Make sure you get relatively small diameter, and make sure that they are 7/8" OD. Put these on every strap, and they will keep the Velcro from blowing out. Like someone said you want to send it back every so often to get the straps replaced, but this works really well.

I wear a Townsend Premier http://www.townsenddesign.com/premier.html They put a cast on your leg and cut it off and use it as a mold to make your brace. My insurance paid 80% and I still had to pay about $580 but it is very comfortable and yes I've had velcro issues, mostly on the knee pads that are on each side. The water was blasting the velcro loose and I would loose the pads, their rep gave me a bunch of free pads but I went a step ahead and sewed fishing string through it and tied it off so now I just latch them back on and go. My doctor referred me to Townsend through a company called Lowry Medical Supply www.lowrymedical.com and the guys name was Brent Ford if anyone was interested.

Seth- it appears that Townsend made some decent modifications to that brace. I actually have one of the original custom braces and it was bulky - they expected you to wear something over and under that thing.
I met the VP of Townsend and I told him why I didn't care for his brace......he told me about the changes and has offered to make me a new brace.
Still haven't decided if I'll take him up on that offer.

Wow! thanx for all of the input! i never imagined i would get this good of a response.
i have recently been riding with the brace and have placed electical tape over each strap everytime i ride. this is kind of a pain, but it seems to work for the time being. I am anxious to try out some of the suggestions posted.
p.s. i mentioned before that i rode with a don joy defender it is actually a don joy defiance. is anyone else using one of these? (just curious)

This is actually a picture taken of me right fractions of a second before my ACL was toast.

At least you were throwing down when you did your knee....I was going W2W on the wakeskate and thought I would try and be Grubb and do that 1 foot indy grab. Then i landed 1 footed too, and folded my knee in half....HAHA. Hope all the brace talk has helped out!

Jeremy,

I have a cheap solution for you. I have a Don Joy Defiance custom knee brace and had the exact same problem. Wearing a sock underneath will not help keep the velco from coming undone. For me it was the spray of the water or a nice wipeout that made my velcro straps come undone, so I can't see where wearing a sock underneath would help?

To fix my problem I bought some snap pliers and some snaps. These are the button kind of snaps that you might find on a boat cover, etc. You can find them at most hardware or fabric stores for about $20.

Since the water always seems to loosen up the starps on the brace, when installing these snaps on the straps of my brace I put my brace on dry and as tight as I could get it. Almost to the point to where it was uncomfortable. However, when wet the straps fit very comfortable like a glove. Like I said, the water seems to loosen them up a little. Since installing the snaps I have not had the brace come loose once!

Although the snowboard strap idea looks very sweet, this may be a good option for you as well.

Phantom5815 - I would take him up on that offer, since they are so expensive. Free is Free and I wouldn't pass that up. You don't have anything to loose.

Jeremy - Nice Picture, sorry to hear about the landing.

Jeremy:
I have the Don Joy Defiance, what I do is dunk it in the lake before I put it on so the straps won't slip then pull a neoprene knee sleeve over the top. Works great. I've had it since 97 and replace the straps every two years. Good luck!
Sharon

Seth - I've thought about getting a newer Townsend,
But I just don't like the feeling of being confined.
When playing softball, I slide on the ACL deficient leg.
Plus I never have to worry about paying for Custom Knee Brace. I work with lots of medical sales reps