knee braces

mattsccm
mattsccm Posts: 409
edited November 2009 in Training, fitness and health
18 months ago I had an arthroscopy, a good chopping of the junk cartilidge in my knee. some improvement and 15 miles every day cycling has fixed it for normal use although its a touch fragile. Walking especially down hill causes greif and is enough to keep me to about 10 miles a day before seriuos limping starts. anyone know of any decent knee braces out there that reduce the load on the knee joint. something that sits between the lower thigh and my calf maybe. I am trying to keep the knee out of the system. Surgeon and GP useless and unsysmpathetic suggesting I look on the web! So I am . I suspect this isn't going to be cheap. Stiffened neoprene braces do nothing really.

Any ideas?

Comments

  • GavH
    GavH Posts: 933
    Take your pick:

    http://www.return2fitness.co.uk/supports_and_braces/knee_supports
  • Mettan
    Mettan Posts: 2,103
    mattsccm wrote:
    18 months ago I had an arthroscopy, a good chopping of the junk cartilidge in my knee. some improvement and 15 miles every day cycling has fixed it for normal use although its a touch fragile. Walking especially down hill causes greif and is enough to keep me to about 10 miles a day before seriuos limping starts. anyone know of any decent knee braces out there that reduce the load on the knee joint. something that sits between the lower thigh and my calf maybe. I am trying to keep the knee out of the system. Surgeon and GP useless and unsysmpathetic suggesting I look on the web! So I am . I suspect this isn't going to be cheap. Stiffened neoprene braces do nothing really.

    Any ideas?

    Is your meniscus and/or articular cartilage damaged only on one side ? - if so, an Unloader brace might help - however, I'm not sure of the efficacy of these - best to read up on them - (not sure whether there are any braces that can reduce the load on the patella) - problem with alot of heavier-duty braces is that they are quite clunky/heavy/uncomfortable - often have to wrap them tight-enough to do a job, but they then can feel quite restrictive - For hiking, walking poles can be of asssistance for the downhills - ( - I've got chronic damage to both my knees (wrecked my season... and the the last one...)

    Have a look at the KneeGuru forum for everything Knees.

    http://www.kneeguru.co.uk/KNEEtalk/
    http://www.kneeguru.co.uk/KNEEtalk/index.php?board=16.0
    http://www.kneeguru.co.uk/KNEEtalk/index.php?board=19.0
    http://www.kneeguru.co.uk/KNEEtalk/index.php?board=26.0

    Some great threads on there.
  • BikeDynamics
    BikeDynamics Posts: 52
    Not quite what you were asking for but you also might want to consider shorter crank arms.

    Shorter arms will keep the knee joint more open, reducing shear forces at the top of the pedal stroke. Especially as you will also need to raise the saddle by the the same amount as the length change.

    Mike at http://BikeDynamics.co.uk
  • gbs
    gbs Posts: 450
    mattsccm wrote:
    18 months ago I had an arthroscopy, ....

    Any ideas?

    More than 20 yrs ago (pre-arthroscopy) I had open cut cartilage surgery on my L knee and about 10 yrs ago arthoscopy on the R knee. The L knee has always been troublesome, compounded by L medial ligament stretches.

    I use a made to measure hightech brace for skiing and off the shelf Decathlon braces for tennis and hill walking and nothing for cycling. I find increased thigh musculature from cycling (which I began 12 months ago) has made a tremendous difference and nowadays I am mostly pain free. I can give product references if you wish.

    Good luck.
    vintage newbie, spinning away

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