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Knee Brace for Meniscus?

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SkiingNinja
Posts: 1964 - Karma: 880
Hey Guys,
I have had two surgeries on my medial meniscus on my left knee and am about to have one on my right knee's medial meniscus in two weeks.  I was wondering if any of you guys have experience using a knee brace for past MENISCUS problems.  I will ask my doc about them but want some background info which is why I'm making this thread.  I search-barred knee braces but didn't see anything about whether they can help prevent meniscus damage (mainly ACL/MCL).  I'm sure they will help bring stability to my weakened knees but I want to get a better idea if they are worth potentially spending a good chunk of money.  I am researching the Donjoy Armor and Defiance and the Ossur CTI. Any suggestions on braces and whether or not it would be worth it for me would be appreciated.

Other info: I am a fairly big guy. 6'2 205lbs so that may play a factor into it. 

P.S. I know it doesn't substitute for PT.
Jun 22 2010 5:40PM
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gbalkman
Posts: 605 - Karma: 4,171
I just had surgery on my left knee- medial meniscus too. I'd like to hear some opinions
Jun 22 2010 5:44PM
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ike.
Posts: 2292 - Karma: 93
i don’t have any experience but i would presume it would help, because that’s what a knee brace is; a support
Jun 22 2010 6:18PM
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Lemuel
Posts: 14477 - Karma: 10,515
Eh I don't know if it would help or not. The meniscus is the cartilage in between the bones, it provides a cushion more than support. It wouldn't hurt, but it is probably something to look into anyway seeing as you have had knee issues, just to prevent and ligament tears.
Jun 22 2010 6:24PM
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matt.rad
Posts: 1813 - Karma: 302
i had surgery for medial meniscal business in my left knee a few years back. i wore a neoprene sleeve for more of a mental aid than physical for maybe the first month back but then i ditched it. strengthening your legs will give your meniscus more protection than a brace will. to my knowledge, braces like mentioned in the OP are more for acl/mcl/pcl/lcl.
Jun 22 2010 6:54PM
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SkiingNinja
Posts: 1964 - Karma: 880
yea I know strengthening the knee will help prevent injuries but my knees seem to be pretty prone to injury so I'll take any help I can get.  I'm mainly thinking that the knee brace might prevent twisting.  Most of the time when you tear your meniscus, you are twisting your knee and the bones push on the cartilage tearing it. Knee braces like the ones I mentioned prevent twisting right? Or is it just hyper/hypo-extension?
Jun 22 2010 7:35PM
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SkiingNinja
Posts: 1964 - Karma: 880
yea I know strengthening the knee will help prevent injuries but my knees seem to be pretty prone to injury so I'll take any help I can get.  I'm mainly thinking that the knee brace might prevent twisting.  Most of the time when you tear your meniscus, you are twisting your knee and the bones push on the cartilage tearing it. Knee braces like the ones I mentioned prevent twisting right? Or is it just hyper/hypo-extension?
Jun 22 2010 9:02PM
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Lemuel
Posts: 14477 - Karma: 10,515
They help support the knee from side to side movement, aka slippage. It basically does what the ligaments do.
Jun 22 2010 9:04PM
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SkiingNinja
Posts: 1964 - Karma: 880
yea I know strengthening the knee will help prevent injuries but my knees seem to be pretty prone to injury so I'll take any help I can get.  I'm mainly thinking that the knee brace might prevent twisting.  Most of the time when you tear your meniscus, you are twisting your knee and the bones push on the cartilage tearing it. Knee braces like the ones I mentioned prevent twisting right? Or is it just hyper/hypo-extension?
Jun 22 2010 9:43PM
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SkiingNinja
Posts: 1964 - Karma: 880
oh ok thanks. and sorry for the multiple post. that was weird.
Jun 22 2010 9:44PM
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Elmo.
Posts: 4317 - Karma: 663
yeaaa id get one but dont go to expensive... it cant hurt to get some more support u kno?
Jun 22 2010 9:52PM
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pbandj
Posts: 5610 - Karma: 28
i occasionally wear a knee brace when my knee is feeling a bit weak. i've had surgery done on my right knee for acl/mcl/lat meniscus tear. i found that a lot of jumping in the park can be torture on my knee with or without a knee brace. my advice would be to get some boots with decent shock absorption under your heel. that definitely helped me more with my knees than the brace did.
Jun 22 2010 10:58PM
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zagfan5
Posts: 2608 - Karma: 144
for a meniscus it isnt going to do much since the meniscus is a shock absorber between the tibia and the femur. and a knee brace is not a shock absorber, its a device for preventing side to side movement of the knee (ligament tear prevention device). if your having pain in your knee while skiing one thing that might help is getting new insoles in your boots that are more cushy and can take some of the srain off your knee by acting as a second shock absorber. i have had meniscus problems in my right knee for years now and last season i just put one of those cheap gel heel insoles and it took a lot of strain off my knee when i was in the park all day hitting jumps and landing flat off of rails.
Jun 23 2010 2:51PM
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tride
Posts: 1038 - Karma: 26
Generation 2 makes a brace called the "unloader". It's designed for osteoarthritis, but is also effective for other forms of meniscus/joint line issues. Basically, it unloads the side of the joint that has meniscus or articular cartilage damage.

I used one for a while after my meniscus removal, it seemed to help.

Links:

http://www.carletonsportsmed.com/gen2.htm

http://www.sportstek.net/g2exp.html


Jun 23 2010 3:45PM
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Clev82
Posts: 16 - Karma: 10
not exactly sure if this is what you are looking for but have you ever heard of rocktape? is kenisology tape which is really cool stuff. i am the king of having knee problems and this stuff has really made a difference. if you are interested the website is rocktape.com
Jun 23 2010 4:33PM
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Juha_H
Posts: 1 - Karma: 10
Hi there,

After meniscectomy I would prefere unloader brace. It really helps reducing the pain. Check out this topic about brace after meniscectomy -> http://www.kneeguru.co.uk/KNEEtalk/index.php?topic=52996.0 .

I lost about 80% medial meniscus after skiing accident in january 2010. Now I'm using CTi and Unloader and they make big difference.

Nov 2 2010 7:45AM
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Capurnicus
Posts: 9947 - Karma: 1,886
I asked my doctor last year after I had a meniscus scope and he said it wasn't necessary at all, and that it wouldn't really help. However, he did say that if I wanted some type of mental reminder, a brace would probably provide that. I didn't wear one and it was all G til I tore my ACL a couple months later :)
Nov 2 2010 8:06AM
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pRETTyLight5
Posts: 500 - Karma: 85
I am going to see my knee doc within a week for my 6 month check up..but he will be writing me a rx for a knee brace i'll let you know what he recommends (i tore the unhappy triad)
Nov 2 2010 12:43PM
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Peach.
Posts: 3879 - Karma: 933
I tore mine two years ago. Wore brace last year as a mental aid more then anything. I have no idea if it helped or not.
Nov 2 2010 12:46PM
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MitchConnors
Posts: 282 - Karma: 10
Im recovering from ACL surgery. Did anyone here find a brace was nessecary or were you ok and no problem without a brace
Nov 2 2010 1:09PM
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