anyone wearing knee brace while sailing? Recovering from a broken knee,ACL etc, and looking at ways to get back on the water quicker. Anyone found a particle brand good or bad. Do they rust? Cheers

I blew my ACL a while ago, and have just been sailing with a knee brace ever since. Seems fine.

I got a standard CTi brace and thought that was great. Didn't really bother me at all sailing in it.
But then I got a custom CTi knee brace made up and that was WAY better. Lighter, more comfortable and lower profile so I hardly know it's there. (The velcro was also better on the custom one, but no idea why)

I'd highly recommend the custom CTi braces. Keeps me on the water and away from the surgeon.

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Ben Severne said..
I blew my ACL a while ago, and have just been sailing with a knee brace ever since. Seems fine.

I got a standard CTi brace and thought that was great. Didn't really bother me at all sailing in it.
But then I got a custom CTi knee brace made up and that was WAY better. Lighter, more comfortable and lower profile so I hardly know it's there. (The velcro was also better on the custom one, but no idea why)

I'd highly recommend the custom CTi braces. Keeps me on the water and away from the surgeon.

If you dont mind, whereabouts did you get the custom CTi brace from?

I hyperextended my knees 10years ago learning how to windsurf, and knee braces are my best friend. I wear them with board shorts, with my shorty and under my full length wetsuit and it works great. I just need a little more stability for my knees and the brace is perfect. It's getting a little worn. Been using the same one for 10 years. I bought it at a sporting goods store.

Thanks Ben, not heard of CTI before but looking at there website seems to fit sport I do. Been to dirtbike shop looking at Leatt and pod but CTI seem better for water sports. Surgeon reckons its 9months before surfing again and thats too long.

I have custom cti brace too. Sail and ski with it. Custom fit by kevin at www.orthotic-perth.com.au/. They are made in USA - not cheap but very good. The reason for time with ACL repair as recommended by the surgeon is that full graft vascularisation and healing is up to 1 year. Especially if you stress it in first 6 months it can be weaker and retear. Maximum graft strength and decreased risk of retear is up to a year. After that it is as good as it will be. Good Physio and rehab very import as you lose proprioception so not only knee muscle strength but balance exercises important. Having said all that I know it's frustrating and certainly the brace is excellent. Good luck.

Ps. Ben has a custom paint job. Much cooler than mine

I dislocated my kneecap a few times many years ago. I now use duct tape around my knee just below the kneecap. Probably all in my mind but it does give me a lot of confidence. (duct tape, the strtchy stuff, not gaffer tape)

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peguin said..
Thanks Ben, not heard of CTI before but looking at there website seems to fit sport I do. Been to dirtbike shop looking at Leatt and pod but CTI seem better for water sports. Surgeon reckons its 9months before surfing again and thats too long.

It's nine months because that's the time required for the ACL tendon to reach full strength. The harness only provides partial protection. Check with your surgeon and physio before getting back on the water before their recommendation.

Thanks for the safety concerns. Don't worry I'm not planning on slipping into foot straps and hitting the waves just yet. Fortunatley I didnt snap the ACL just unplugged so it's all my original ACL. Broke a few bones and cartilage thou. Coming up to 5 months now and back on flat water SUP, cycling, beach jogging with physio permission. What I'm planning on is using my large freestyle board with small sail to practice core moves (heli-tacks etc) in the morning breeze. no footstraps to keep the deck clear of trip hazards which is my big fear. I see Koster reckons he sailing again next month and he did his knee same time as mine. I wonder what physio sessions he's been on to get that rate of recovery. I'm training on same schedule as western force players with repaired ACL and same surgeon who states 8-9 months for them to play again.

I had a 100% rupture (tear) of my patella tendon in 2003 playing rugby. They had to wire the patella to my tibia and roughly suture the tendon back together. Anyway to cut a long story I now wear a velcroed neoprene knee support (much like Magic Ride's post above) which can be adjusted to suit (I find this much better than a tube type support which stretches out of shape and looses its elasticity). In addition I have to tape it up around the top and bottom as the stresses put on it whilst sailing (waterstarting etc) will release the velcro holds.

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grumplestiltskin said..

Ben Severne said..
I blew my ACL a while ago, and have just been sailing with a knee brace ever since. Seems fine.

I got a standard CTi brace and thought that was great. Didn't really bother me at all sailing in it.
But then I got a custom CTi knee brace made up and that was WAY better. Lighter, more comfortable and lower profile so I hardly know it's there. (The velcro was also better on the custom one, but no idea why)

I'd highly recommend the custom CTi braces. Keeps me on the water and away from the surgeon.

If you dont mind, whereabouts did you get the custom CTi brace from?

I got mine from Simon at Ossur - sboyd@ossur.com He came around and measured me up, and then sent me around to Kevin at Perth Orthotics to get it fitted once it arrived (only about 10 days for custom build in the US!! Wish I could make custom sails that quick!!)

I pinged my other knee about a decade before and had the op. Did all the rehab and then got back into windsurfing without any brace. I got back on a windsurf board at 9 months (without straps) and took it pretty easy for another 3. That knee has been fine ever since.

Philip Koster reckons he's going to start sailing again next month, but he's had the full-on RedBull athlete rehab program...

Thanks Ben. In contact with ossur.

I dislocated my kneecap doing a helicopter tack, I got pushed backwards and stepped off thinking the water was shallow, it was deep and my leg jarred so hard my kneecap popped off to the side. I pushed it back into place and kept sailing, which turned out to be a bad idea.

Did my ACL twice (both knees), one wakeboarding, the other one kitesurfing.

Got myself a custom CTI several years ago to keep kitesurfing - it's the best knee brace for water sports in the market - all the pros in kitesurfing have one, or two.

Some advice - don't rush, you'll regret it. It takes a year to recover fully from ACL tear, not 6, 8 or 10 months, 12 months. The pros have a professional recovery program, we don't.

I have now stopped kitesurfing (way too hard on the knees) and have gone back to windsurfing, and i love it even more. Windsurfing is not as traumatizing for the knees.

Hang in there, you're almost there ;)

I had no idea that kiteboarding was so hard on the knees. Are you speaking of when you catch huge air and the landing is hard on knees? Or is the the kiteboard more bouncy on the water?

I did an ACL, medial and a tibia fracture skiing in Jan 2015 (Seems like yesterday). Didn't have the recon until July 2015 as i had to do a bunch of prehab before hand plus have an initial arthroscopy to clean up the mess i made !

I'm using John Annear who is the ex Eagles physio and he has done an amazing job with me and certainly for the first 6-8 months i did everything he told me to do rehab wise. By November 2015 i was wave sailing in Exmouth. Nothing hardcore, but certainly enough to keep me focused. i use a neoprene brace with side carbon supports bought from Actimed Osborne Park $100-. nothing special but seems to provide sufficient support and reassurance. only thing is the velcro seems to loosen up after a while on the water.

it certainly seems to help as a couple of times i have come off and i have felt the brace provide the lateral support needed. like you i started back on a large learner broad, no straps with a small sail just to get the feel of it again which John encouraged, but apart from the wave sailing, only sailed 4 times last season on slalom gear on larger gear in lighter winds. didn't push it. as john said, i would be suicidal if i damaged it and i have listened to him all the way and kept doing the rehab. My legs, gluts and lower core have never felt stronger and when i have gone wavesailing and especially SUP sailing, the physically benefits have been really noticeable.

Last week at Rotto we had an epic 3.5 hour SUP session at Transits reef. i didn't have my brace which didn't bother me at the time but towards the end i did feel a bit of twitchiness in the knee. the support may have helped but i've resigned myself to the fact that the knee is never really going to be the same again and said above. That said, i have the all clear to do everything i want, just got to be sensible.

Mine has done the job, but a custom job like Ben's certainly looks appealing. that said, i'm not looping as much as he does !

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peguin said..
...I didnt snap the ACL just unplugged so it's all my original ACL. Broke a few bones and cartilage thou...

SNAP! Well, that is to say; me too! Going over the nose on a wakeboard jump, I landed hard with my front leg fully extended and the knee bent inwards. ACL intact! But: one of two fractures I'd put in my upper shin dislodged a small sliver of bone, which was the part where the ACL anchored, so the ACL and that sliver were just flapping around in there, couldn't weight bear at all.
A couple of visits to the surgeon reattached everything, break to first windsurf: eighteen months. Probably 6 longer than needed, it was still winter and to be honest, I was kinda fearful at first of re-injuring myself.

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Magic Ride said..
I had no idea that kiteboarding was so hard on the knees. Are you speaking of when you catch huge air and the landing is hard on knees? Or is the the kiteboard more bouncy on the water?

Nah it's the freestyle part of kitesurfing. When you do unhooked tricks, handle-passes, etc. You start wearing boots instead of straps... It's basically wakeboarding at this stage, except you have more speed, height and less control. When you fall, all the energy gets absorbed by your knees (especially with boots, it's a killer for your knees). Eventually, after years of crashing, your ACL snaps, it's inevitable.

All the pros in kitesurfing go through it at least once, if not twice, it's part of the job for them. And most of them end up wearing custom CTIs braces.

Seems alot of folk have suffered knee injuries. What sports/activities did you do during the recovery. My sports are surfing, windsurfing, SUP, Dirtbiking & track days. All are off limits except for flat water sup and I'm cycling again but they don't offer the same enjoyment as waves & dirt. So what did you guys do to entertain yourselves?

lot's of squats and lunges and deadlifts in the gym ... hahaha

it was hard being out of the water for a number of months but it was all part of the focus of getting the best out of my rehab. like i said above, i was wave sailing (cautiously) within 6 months of my reconstruction, then (easy) slalom after that so i was happy that i stuck to the plan.

May be a stupid question - but are these knee issues being created/caused by windsurfing or some other sport???

May be a stupid question - but are these knee issues being created/caused by windsurfing or some other sport???

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Lemonade said..
May be a stupid question - but are these knee issues being created/caused by windsurfing or some other sport???

Dunno about kite surfing, by issue was caused be doing a helicopter tack in shallow water and getting slammed .

The cursed 250 moto crosser and not noting the change in track conditions quick enuff. Funny all the Dr etc all questioned if it was footy related, but when I uttered mx they all gave the knowing arrh and asked if I'll I'm giving up bikes now. I did answer footy twice and got the response just 9mths and you'll be playing again.

cant find my reply. sorry to repeat if it turns up.
have a fractured patella. post op complication as a result of partial knee replacement in 2011.
been using elastic braces and lots of ice post sailing. my question is would a brace with a patela cut out be better?