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Thread: Knee brace recomendation?

  1. #1
    Senior Member
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    Knee brace recomendation?

    HI there,

    I was due to have ACL reconstructive surgery in August but - to be honest - I bottled it. I had been doing a lot of cycling last year and built my quads up and I wasn't getting knee trouble so decided that the surgery - and a year of intensive physio - was not worth it.

    I got back into gentle running in September - no probs.

    Have been doing hills now but am very wary on descents so I don't aggravate the knee.

    Am finding, however, that I get a bit of pain in the knee sometimes which keeps me off running for a couple of weeks. Am pretty sure it is from meniscal tears which I also have and am wondering if a knee brace might help.

    Wonder if anyone on here uses one to good effect and can recommend a decent one for running as some of them look fairly cumbersome.

    Much appreciated.

    p.s. - I have Feel The Burns on Sunday so quick recommendations would be appreciated so I can order something today

  2. #2
    Master mr brightside's Avatar
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    The thing that stood out in your post was that you bottled the surgery, and now you're looking for an easy alternative. There are a few on here who've had knee reconstructive surgery, but i'm not one of them, my experience is with maltracking and Chondromalacia and i can tell you there are no easy ways out of that. You need to decide whether you want to run or not; if you do then first thing monday you need to get the ball rolling on this reconstructive surgery, if not then it sounds like you are fine on the bike.

    My knowledge of this condition is a bit limited, but this ruined ACL will probably be allowing abnormal amounts of twist in the joint which in turn will be wrecking your meniscus further; and, as i understand it, the menuscus is the most troublesome bit to rebuild and only so much can be done. You're going down a road here that you cannot come back up if you change your mind. The year of rehab will take huge amounts of discipline, but if you stick to it and get the best advice it will work, the only thing is you may have to keep doing the exercises forever if you want to stay as good as possible- it's a lifetime commitment. Do some soul searching and be totally comfortable with the fact you may not be able to make a u-turn on certain decisions you may decide to make.
    Luke Appleyard (Wharfedale)- quick on the dissent

  3. #3
    Senior Member fellgazelle's Avatar
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    If you have tears in the meniscus then in my experience a knee brace won't make any difference.
    I tore the meniscus in my left knee descending Scafell in May 2012 and like you I hated the thought of surgery so after resting it for a while I convinced myself that it would just heal up. Wrong!!
    At first there was little pain and then it started to gradually build up but this didn't stop me. Other runners occasionally commented that I appeared to be carrying my left leg but I was not conscious of it. From December 2014 to August 2015 the knee was permanently swollen and the pain just got gradually worse, until I was so heavily carrying it that my right calf would cramp up after 5 minutes of running from being massively over used. I tried every trick in the book to prevent the pain but nothing made the slightest bit of difference. I also found that cycling didn't bother it.

    I've had the surgery now and looking back I wish I'd had it earlier as I now have all sorts of misalignment and muscle imbalance issues from carrying it for so long.
    Sorry to be negative and blunt but my advice is if you want to run bite the bullet and get the surgery done.
    Do what you like, like what you do

  4. #4
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    I have had my left ACL reconstructed twice, first time in 1987 which hurt like hell and took an age to recover from, the second time 2 years ago next week which was a more complicated operation given it was a repair of a repair and was a totally different experience. I had very little pain and even walked with sticks about 4 hours after the surgery. I didn't need pain killers from 2 days after the surgery either. Recovery from this latest surgery was far quicker, physio for 2 months, light jogging after 3 months, back on the fells for fast walking after 4 months. No issues with my knee since, my hamstring has been a bit sensitive every now and then but I can manage that.

    My advice is get the surgery done, the instability in your knee will create other issues which are far harder to correct than the acl. Plus it doesn't hurt, and I'm a wimp.

  5. #5
    Senior Member
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    Appreciate the honest feedback guys.

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