Got My Braces Friday!

[biglou]

Well, got my braces Friday, and yesterday I got around to going over the user guide to set them up and get them fitted as best I could.  I have a couple questions I thought I would post here since this forum is Asterisk-specific.  

I wanted to start by saying that these braces are confidence-inspiring to say the least.  First time with them on and in riding situations, I didn't really notice them.  They really are kind of "out of sight, out of mind" when riding, which is exactly where they are intended to be used.  Walking was no big deal.  Getting my pants on took a little longer than usual, though!  But if I would have fallen off the trailer putting my pants on, my knees would have been protected!  :laugh:  I don't have any real rides on them yet, but I can tell that they will definitely be a part of my riding from now on.  They feel like a security blanket!

For the record, I have the XXL size.

First-The guide says to not go too tight on the tendon cuff adjustments.  I was wondering if there were any tips to gauge optimum adjustment for these?  I think mine are close, but when I move a gap opens up around my thigh sometimes.  Normal, "don't worry about it" stuff?  I didn't really adjust the bands much.  Maybe a turn or two out and back in to see what it felt like.

Second-Any suggestions on the adjustment of the extention limiter?  I have mine at about half way and that doesn't seem to inhibit my walking much.  Are there any drawbacks to too much or too little adjustment on these?  I really like that secure feeling when I try to lock my knee out and the braces stop it from doing so.  That is the one thing that makes me cringe to think about: hyper-extending my knee! 

Third-Do these braces offer protection against twisting your knee?  I don't specifically remember reading about that before.

Thanks, Billy.  You da man, mister. :thumb:

 

[BillyWho]

BigLou, glad to hear they made it to you by the weekend.
The cuff adjustment is done by putting the brace on and clicking in the buckles but don't tighten the lace yet. Turn one of the upper adjustment screws on the cuff until you feel the first sign of movement/pressure on your thigh at the other end of the cuff ( by the buckle) and stop, then do the same with the other screw. Same goes for the lower. This adjustment is there to allow for different size thighs and calfs, and when it is adjusted right, it makes the cuff as stiff as possible for your size leg which gives you more lateral support. If your talking about the "gap" that appears when you bend your leg fully at the very top of the brace, that has to do with the "plane" of your leg ( the difference of the top of your thigh verses the top of your shin bone when your leg is straight) All legs are different, and we took the average plane when we designed these, but some will have a gap. Even custom fit braces do the same thing, it's not as critical as you'd think, and it doesn't take away from the support of the brace at all, it just looks odd. Also the tighter you have the upper liner the more that will go away, but don't do it too tight or your leg will fall asleep lol, just try a few different lace tightness settings until you find a happy medium.

The middle of the extention limitor is a good place to start, and I always tell everyone to run as much stop as they can handle for two reasons. First, the first line of defense on a knee brace is to eleminate a bad situation before you get there, with that I mean when your leg is fully locked and straight it is in it's most vulnerable position. If your going around a corner and your leg is locked out straight and your foot catches something, your knee doesn't have that split second to bend out of the way in time to avoid a possible injury. If you have the extention stop set so your "pushing" against the brace, your leg feels locked but it's slightly bent and will be WAY more apt to break away and bend out of harms way BEFORE or instead of applying all that force to your knee. Secondly, your putting the brace on the soft tissue of your leg, so there is a given amount of "flex" your leg will see before the brace really starts stopping the movement. If you have the stops set at zero lets say, and your leg starts hyper extending, you'll go through straight and into the soft tissue give before the brace really starts working. If you have it adjusted to start stopping before it's straight, the brace is in effect before your leg reaches the straight position so it can help de-accelerate the movement before it gets to the danger zone. I personaly run them all the way tight, and what I suggest to people is to run them as tight as they feel they can. You might feel the brace slightly bumping the stop walking around the pits at first, but it shouldn't effect you when riding.

Twisting motion is the hardest thing for any brace to stop short of screwing it to the bones in your leg. We did as much as possible to help with this by "captureing" the tibula with the lower frame and cuff. Without going through the details, the frame shape and cuff shape ( along the crest of the tibula) is designed to completely capture the bones of the lower leg, and along with the lower liner system that really pulls and secures the brace to your lower leg, we feel we have the best system you'll find on any brace, custom or other wise. This problem can also be headed off with the above explanation of the extention stops keeping your leg slightly "bent" at all times to let the leg break away instead of being locked and twisted.

That's the long and short of it, hope that helps, anything else let me know.

Billy

 

[biglou]

:thumb: Thanks, man, that ought to do it!  I wasnt adjusting the tendon cuffs as you described.  I was strapping them on tight and then fooling with it.  I will adjust as you have described above.  First real test this weekend.  Woohoo!