CTI2 - Question for the Brace Guru's

[jmars]

Hey guys,

Tore my ACL back in April 2010....had surgery at HSS in NYC. My ski season was great(48 days) and I didn't have an issue all year.

Now wakeboard season shows up.....Saturday I landed super hard out in the flats and I just couldn't take the landing and collapsed. The shitty part is that I must've hyper extened and maybe twisted my knee as I was throbbing and had instant swelling. I was wearing a Breg X2K brace. I think I just jolted my knee bad but so for the time being I'm RICE'ing it and duing quadsets, leg lifts and minor swats to engage the quad b/c it wasn't stable after my fall. If nothing changes I'm heading in for an MRI next week as I spoke with the surgeon. He's a good guy and gets "our" sports

My question for you brace guru's.....My breg is an OK brace I guess but she is worn out from the water use. I've looked at a mess of different braces and I'm pretty much sold on an CTI2 custom. The doc sent me to BioDynamic here in NYC, they seem to do a lot of brace work but my fear is that this will be a custom and they haven't done many custom CTI2's. Do you guys have an recommendations for me of who to see in the NYC area OR what I should be asking for?

I want a brace for the wakeboard and heavy snow days. Its a mental thing as I feel proper muscle building is the best prevention but a brace I don't see hurting me.

Any to keep me strong and going 100%.

Thanks for any responses.

Also any other brace advice woud be great.

[kingdom-tele]

Contact CTi/Ossur directly, they should have a list of providers for your area. Honestly though, if your comfortable with your current Orthotist its all in the casting, if they can make a good mold of your leg thats what matters, especially for capturing the tib plate FWIW

good luck with the knee

[caddah]

This thing has kept my leg in one piece through a couple hellish tomahawk type falls and would definitely recommend the custom Donjoy. What ever your insurance covers though...I am sure CTi is a great brace. As mentioned above it ALL about how well it fits YOU.

Yours will have far fewer straps compared to mine. I had almost every instability you could have in your knee until I finally got surgery which I am rehabing from right now. hope to not be needing this things anymore. yours will only need to protect against acl instability. Good Luck

[jmars]

Thanks guys. I'm so fcuking afraid I retore my ACL and this board doesn't help...LOL

I don't believe I did retear as I would think I couldn't walk right away.... I couldn't the first time I tore. My gait is clean too but the ole knee isn't happy when I load it and hold it in position like I would on the wakeboard.

I haven't ruled out the DonJoy either.

I love my Ortho...great dude but he's not the one doing the measuring/casting. He sent me to a brace place

[Wintergreen]

My doctor here in Salt Lake is one of the best in the country and he told me that there is NO brace made that can protect you from tearing you're ACL.
I know, it sucks, but you said any brace advice.
Also, if you are talking about the same knee as you're april surgery, then it most likely would not feel as severe as there is less trauma when tearing a graft versus you're own tissue.
If you can afford it, just go get it checked out as soon as possible and find out for sure. Don't torture yourself wondering.
I have the DonJoy brace and like it, but the key to keeping it in place for me was to get the gummy straps, before it would shift down over time.

Good Luck

[jmars]

Thanks Wintergreen. I went back to the surgeon and he did some physical tests......I totally have an ACL, I could even feel the stop. We also tested the meniscus and that was smooth. Now that the knee is less inflamed I'm feeling that the pain point is actually in my lower leg below my knee on the IT band side. We didn't MRI me b/c I had painless movements on the physical test. Doc told me to stay off the wakeboard for another 4week then come back if pain continues.....I'm OK with that b/c wakeboarding was always the sport I always said was to damaging for my body. If I'm not in the air then I'm just burning gas IMO so there is no real freeride aspect.....just I'll just wakeskate.....getting old.

I don't disgaree that that you can tear your ACL with a brace, I believe like others that proper conditioning and strenght building is the best. I want the brace for that collapsing fall where my body rolls back and the board goes forward (not sure if that makes sense), a brace should help keep me in line.

I ordered a custom CTI2 Vapor.

[Wintergreen]

Good to hear! Always such a relief when the doc tells you that you have an ACL.
My doctor told me that a lot of people just like to feel the brace for piece of mind and thats certainly worth something.
Whichever brace is comfortable enough for you to always wear is the best one IMO.

Have a great season.

[jmars]

Doc told me I have an ACL.........last night at the gym while doing ladders I think my meniscus retore. I didn't feel a thing until this morning and the pain was rough. The outside of the knee hurts to the touch which is leadig me to believe I officically did something.

Back to the doc I go and this time an MRI is in order. FARK!!!

[Bull380]

Hey guys, happened to a web search on knee bracing and came across this forum. I work for an independent company that does all of these braces, and I thought I would throw my two cents in on some things people have not mentioned.

Donjoy Defiance for starters, hands down is the best ligament knee brace on the market. There is a reason why just about every college, and professional football team uses it.

Breg, CTI, Townsend are passive knee braces. They indirectly protect your ACL. A defiance knee brace is dynamic and works on a leverage system to protect your ACL through your entire range of motion.

When you look at braces, honestly a wrist brace is a wrist brace, a sling is a sling, but when it comes to knee bracing ACL, PCL or even severe MCL/LCL injuries the game changes.

I am honestly quite surprised so many people mention the CTI or Fusion knee brace. CTI braces could be the cheapest knee brace made. They are made out of plastic and there is a reason why they are dirt cheap. They break and have no shelf life. The fusion brace was a complete failure because Breg just came out with a new brace that completely contradicts the purpose of the Fusion!

Bottom line, I have no personal of financial interest on Donjoy, but if you want a quality brace that has scientific evidence that it can help to prevent ACL tears then get a Donjoy.

[Bosco]

I am honestly quite surprised so many people mention the CTI or Fusion knee brace. CTI braces could be the cheapest knee brace made. They are made out of plastic and there is a reason why they are dirt cheap. They break and have no shelf life.

I have a CTI2 for both knees. Both are 15 years old and get 30+ days in a year of skiing, and are still going strong. They are also a composite structure and not plastic. Seems to put in question what you have to say about them. I'm not saying anything against the Donjoy and maybe it is a better product.

[jmars]

I ended up with the CTI b/c I continued to hear more negative on DonJoy customer support....especially if the custom fit wasn't dead on.

I've now had one day on the mountain, a few hikes and wore it to two weddings as I was afraid of slipping on the dance floor.....I'm pretty sweet out there...LOL

Bull's 1st post looks like a troll.....maybe not but sure seems it.

[Sinecure]

Sounds like a pretty good wedding.