Knee braces..Whats up?

[WR250fla]

My riding buddy is waiting to ride again after knee surgery(ACL,ect.) Heis going to need the best support a brace can give. Which ones are the best? I was thinking EVS for me,but one of our freinds with a pair of EVS braces said for our knee injured buddy he would be better off with a pair of CTi braces. What do you guys think of the ones that you've had? I can get the EVS braces for $525.00, The cost of the CTi braces does not matter to my buddy. I have heard they are a lot more. Thanks for any help.

[125shifter]

Here's a post from last week:

https://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB6&Number=618002&page=3&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=7&fpart=1

125

[renegade]

Here's my two cents; I'm four weeks post acl surgery. I currently am wearing a full time orthopedic brace, A townsend brace, http://www.townsenddesign.com/premier. Similar in fashion to a CTI2, it's a prescription brace. But it will not be my riding brace for one main reason,; it is very open to the front, it has no patellar protection at all. The CTI2 has a little frontal protection, but the optional patella cup is pathetically anemic. My friend has a pair of CTI2's, so I've seen them in the flesh. They offer excellent protection from ligament damage as does my townsend. I have ordered a pair of asterisk braces; those I have also seen in the flesh/held in my hand, I believe that they will offer very good ligament protection [allmost as good as the CTI2 and the townsend] and that they offer good impact protection as well. A prescription brace is about a thousand bucks a knee.

[charlieb]

I personally use a pair of custom CTi 2 edge's with the patella cup. They are very comfortable and very good protection but they are VERY expensive. My insurance company paid for mine. The custom made version comes with a lifetime warranty verses the 1 yr over the counter warranty.

I am 100% happy with the CTi's and highly recomend them. They are also about the lightest brace on the market and the strongest. Most of the pros use CTi's

[WR250fla]

Thanks alot for the info. Looks like my friend will be getting the CTi braces. Hey Renegade, I think my buddy and you got repaired on the same day.

[sjw]

whats a good brand/type of knee brace to buy ? I dont need the best,just good protection for weekend rideing.

[Sylvain]

Take a look at the Thor knee force. It got good ratings I don't remember in wich mag. And I own a set. Unless you want to go with very expensive braces, these knee guards offer really good protection and are comfortable.

[sjw]

I want to go with knee braces,I know they cost alot but I think is wort the money.CAN anyone guide me to some

good knee braces ? from 1 to 10 rating I would settle with a 5 to 7 THANKS ! theres so much info, what to get?

[slowrider]

I have a cti for my left and an evs for my right leg. I like the cti much much better, it's way more comfortable and the evs seems to scratch the piss out of my graphics. Twin brother has both evs and complains of the fit and how the evs seem to destroy graphics. just my 2cents though.

[renegade]

I want to go with knee braces,I know they cost alot but I think is wort the money.CAN anyone guide me to some

good knee braces ? from 1 to 10 rating I would settle with a 5 to 7 THANKS ! theres so much info, what to get?

sjw, in this realm, you're gonna get what you pay for. We all have opinions as to what's good; there are guys here who like braces that I don't care for, so , you're gonna have to sort it out. If any of your local shops carry braces, that's a good place to start. The thor knee guards seem to offer excellent impact protection, but they are not knee braces in that they will not protect you from hyperextension or side impacts. Evs braces are popular. A good brace will have adjustable extension stops. Ask a dealer if a brace you're interested in has adjustable stops.And my criteria for a brace includes some protection from front impacts, which is why I'm critical of the CTI2's for a lack of armor up front [CTI2's are a prescription brace and are very spendy as well].

I've ordered a pair of asterisk braces. Yea, they're $550 a pair, but that is cheap compared to knee surgery [which I have had 4 weeks ago. A pair of braces would have prevented my torn acl and miniscus damage. For what I'm paying out of pocket for my accident [thank goodness for health insurance!] I could have paid for braces, and updated all my armor and protective gear, including helmet. I have no intention of going through with this ordeal again if I can prevent it with good gear.

I wish to reiterate that I think the CTI2's are excellent orthopedic braces. I just don't think they offer enough frontal protection from impact.

[sjw]

thanks for all the input! now I have a starting point... thanks to TT members!!!!!

[ralphfurley]

I tore my acl while wearing cti's

2nd gear dab on a dirt road.

a twisting action.

[sjw]

are you going to try another brand? what do you think caused it?

[Brian_in_Long_Beach]

Do a search on my user name and you'll find plenty of reading material. I've got both CTI2 and Asterik and don't wear either anymore when I'm riding.

I tore my ACL playing basketball - body pivoted around my knee and my foot didn't. IMO no brace would have prevented my injury - the attachment methods just aren't good enough in torsion.

Also check www.dirtrider.net & www.ktmtalk.com for lots of kneebrace discussions.

Brian

[ralphfurley]

knee braces wont prevent a twisting type of tear.

they may help a little

[basicblues]

I have a son who plays high school football (fullback) and he wanted me to buy him a set of knee braces for this fall season. I started searching for what to buy. He so far has not had a injury other than general soreness from getting hit and really wants preventive protection. So, some of the same name brand braces mentioned here are also listed on the athletic and medical sites.

Shocker#1

There's a ton of information and hundreds of different types of braces, how could I ever choose the right one?

Shocker#2

In every study of knee braces I could fine, researchers concluded there was no significant reduction in the number or type of knee injuries. There was no change in the total number of medial collateral ligament or anterior cruciate ligament injuries. It showed an increase in the number of serious knee injuries when athletes braced their knees. Another study on knee bracing involved looking at seven of the most popular functional knee braces used to control anterior tibial displacement in people with ACL laxity. This study confirmed what researchers had already seen, the brace was a myth. In the first year of the study, the athletes wearing the braces were twice as likely to be injured. In the second year of the study, the risk of injury was increased by 50 percent. In addition to these facts, the braced athletes were much more likely to receive surgical procedures.

There is a pretty good debate in the medical field about knee braces. While the research shows no reduction of injury and a greater chance of being injured, a large number of people wearing knee braces "feel" like they are protected and more likely to take "additional chances" therefore increasing the likelihood of being injured. (we all know what happens when we are really feelin a little too confident on a dirt bike)

My original thought: I'll buy him a good set of braces and when he's done playing football I'll have a good set to use while riding MX.

Now I don't have a clue what to do. Apparently there are 4 levels of knee braces depending on the level of protection and severity of any previous injuries. First, decide on a actual knee braces or knee pads... they're not the same thing... I've just about decided to buy a good set of knee pads for additional protection and hope for the best.

Football and Motocross may not be the same sport and IMO there's a greater chance of taking a really nasty hit on a rock while riding MX than a big lineman falling on your knee. Sorry for the long boring post but maybe someone can benefit from additional information. Just remember I am reporting what I read, I am not the author and if someone has a recommendation in my situation I'd like to see it. Good Luck and ride within your ability. ?

[FNG241_WR450F]

I have a set of cti2's. They're awesome. If you can find a doctor that will write a prescription for knee braces, you should look no further. Hint...make sure the prescription does not say "for Motorcross". If it does, your ins co will tell you to just stop riding.

When you order them, make sure you get the set designed for motorcross and order the patella cups! Hell, you can even have them custom painted for $150.