Confused about knee braces

My turn!!!!

I don't think "any" one person, doctor, etc.... can give a correct answer to this. It is best to leave it at "Read everything you can, and make your own decision".

Me??

I have bone on bone in my left knee. Hyperextended it racing in 1989. Didn't do major damage, stretched everything real good though. A knee brace would have prevented it. But then on the flip side..... at what cost?? Broken leg?? Maybe. I will never know for sure.

But..... "IF" I did have a knee brace on that day, and broke my leg instead, would I have a different type (or types) of problem today with that leg?? maybe

A lot of questions, a lot of advice, but ultimately it is my choice to make.

Mully

FWIW, I am in fairly good shape, and don't ride at high speed or much track. Mostly hillclimbing and trails. I use my braces for the support I no longer have due to missing ligaments/tissue. Impact protection is an added plus. Because of my short stature, and lack of skill, I fall on occasion. Ironically, I have never really injured my knees while riding. Baseball is what caused most of my problems. My point here is I don't really see the downside to using knee braces for added protection. They are by no means a substitute for staying in shape and flexible. But they are very good at stopping hyperextension, and as stated above, help protect the knees from impact. It's a choice that needs to made on an individual level.

I wear Asterisks because of 2 knee surgeries. They dramatically reduce after riding knee pain. I also noticed my quads get more excercise than they did before. That's good for my knee. The downside to them is the front impact protection of the knee itself. From the first time I put them on I was worried about how well the knee cups would protect me. 2 weeks ago I had a bad get off directly on my left knee. I was right. There is so little padding on the cups that I had bruises, and cuts that mimiced the shape of the cups. Not only that but my upper quad where the brace tightens down in still in pain. Rather than my knee taking all of the impact the braces distributed the stress to the areas where the brace was in contact with my leg. Above the knee and halfway up my quad. Those places hurt more than my knee which took the direct impact. At first I thought I broke my leg. What probably happened was I tore the muscle under the brace. The upper part of the brace actually expanded so much it broke. I question if I had just had on good knee pads would I be in so much pain? When the Asterisks come back from repair I may not wear them again. I haven't decided.

velosapiens said:

5 learn how to fall off a freakin' bike. i only crash a couple times a year, but i roll out of it, get back on and keep going.

Click to expand...

So, I guess it's pointless for me to post this then:

This past Sunday I was riding through some pretty sloppy mud, I slipped up and landed with my left leg stuck completely under the bike. I'd probably have a twisted/torn knee if it wasn't for my Asterisk braces. :nod:

Do I not know how to ride? Or do I just not know how to fall off?

When you hit an obstacle incorrectly and you go down, it's split second, there's no time to think about how you're going to crash. There's no time to think "Oh, crap, I'm going to crash, how do I want to go down this time?"

Being such a great athlete, you should know this.

Anyway...to stay on topic somewhat...

I think that choices in knee protection should be made on an individual basis. I have totally screwed up knees due to being born with a dislocated hip (the doctors didn't catch it in time, so my knees turn in now...). I love my Asterisk's. My knees don't hurt when I ride, and I feel thoroughly protected, neither of which was the case when I wore regular knee guards.

I think the best advice has already been given in this thread. Read as much as you can about the product you plan to purchase, request informational brochures from the manufacturer if you have to, then read customer testimonials. In my opinion, since every doctor has a different idea of what should be used for knee protection, customer testimonials are your best bet.

Then, based on the information you obtain, make an educated decision. I'm willing to bet that no matter which route you choose to take, you'll be happy with your decision.

Just be sure to choose some sort of knee protection! Not that I NEED to tell you that!

HajiWasAPunk said:

They're not trying to go faster than they ever have. (Bike failure and other riders making mistakes cause crashes too).

This is so obvious to me even in the pro ranks. Carmicheal appears to ride to within 99% of his ability and crashes much less frequently than Stewart who seems to go between 99 - 105% of his ability. But when Stewart gets that 105 right and keeps the bike on 2 wheels, he's faster than Carmichael.

Click to expand...

fair enough. i'm looking at things through my own experience. i don't heal as fast as i used to, so i prefer to progress slowly and safely. it took me 3-4 years to go from rank beginner to challenging for podium spots in A/Expert and i don't consider that time wasted. i spent about a year just trailriding and getting really comfortable on the bike before i even considered racing. now i ride and race around 5000-6000 miles/yr and have a blast.

whatever you decide to do wrt knee braces, good luck to you and your son both in your racing. don't forget to have fun.

Certainly an interesting thread.

Maybe I need to switch to Enduros. I've only raced MX for 1 year so far, but I have almost 15 years of riding experience, I've played soccer competitively for 20 years and skiied in the Rockies, Sierras and the Alps. I had a 38 inch vertical in college. I think I'm a pretty good athlete. In spite of that . . .

. . . I know that there is no possible way I will ever become an "A"/"Expert" MX rider - and certainly not in 2 to 3 more years of racing. Even at our piddly local tracks, the top A guy is good enough to place 8th at Loretta's.

I'm too old (33) to even want to push that hard. If I push hard enough to win a C class race early this year, I'll certainly crash out.

I guess Enduros must be somewhat easier to master. I might look into it. Of course, if I could find the time to ride 5000-6000 miles a year, I guess I'd get better, faster.

HajiWasAPunk said:

And some ppl definitely try to progress at a pace way to uncomfortable for their health! What part of the country are you racing in?

Click to expand...

dezert scrambles in southern NV (maybe a national in utah next month), and some enduros. for the enduros i have to travel. Idaho City qualifier the last couple years, Az national enduro last year, a bunch more enduros in norcal before i moved out to the sticks.

i've been racing bicycles forever (6 years road in germany, 10 years off-road in norcal), so i think that helped me pick up dirtbiking a little quicker.

HajiWasAPunk said:

when he kept trying to drive the golf cart off the sides of tee boxes and do fish tails in the middle of the fairways, well I knew something had to give :nod:

Click to expand...

:laugh: :laugh:

robwbright said:

Maybe I need to switch to Enduros.
I guess Enduros must be somewhat easier to master. I might look into it.

Click to expand...

:rotfl:

Me too....................................... ;)

enduros are WAY easier. most of the mx guys come out and win races right from the start. :laugh:

i know what you mean about not pushing that hard on the track. i like riding at tracks, but imho, the risk of injury from racing mx (especially other people's mistakes in novice classes) is too great to be worth it to me at 44. crashing at 30mph in the rocky dezert is one thing, but stacking off a big double and getting landed on can get you seriously hurt.

robwbright said:

. . . I know that there is no possible way I will ever become an "A"/"Expert" MX rider - and certainly not in 2 to 3 more years of racing. Even at our piddly local tracks, the top A guy is good enough to place 8th at Loretta's.

I'm too old (33) to even want to push that hard. If I push hard enough to win a C class race early this year, I'll certainly crash out.

I guess Enduros must be somewhat easier to master. I might look into it. Of course, if I could find the time to ride 5000-6000 miles a year, I guess I'd get better, faster.

Click to expand...

velosapiens said:

but stacking off a big double and getting landed on can get you seriously hurt.

Click to expand...

. . .Or a triple, as I found out last fall. :bang:

Hopefully I'll win in "C" by the end of the year . . .

It's funny how the different types of riding require different skills - my brother is 22 and has ridden an XR100, KDX200, CR125 and now KX250.

He absolutely kills me in the woods, but he can't touch me on a track.

robwbright said:

It's funny how the different types of riding require different skills - my brother is 22 and has ridden an XR100, KDX200, CR125 and now KX250.

He absolutely kills me in the woods, but he can't touch me on a track.

Click to expand...

my girlfriend is a much better cook than me, but she's slower on rocky descents. i don't get it :coocoo:
:laugh: :laugh: