Avoiding Knee Damage

[OriginalTwo]

When falling try to put both legs behind your body and fall in the press up position. I know this seems a little obvious to all the oldies on these but if you have one behind one infront either the pressure on your knee pressing the wrong way and tear cartiledges or the back an upper thigh strain or tear. So lock your legs when you fall, always best.

[Lukey]

Hmmm, that method offers a fair whak to the wrists and elbows, pads are a must but my concern is that if you're not too strong in upper body you're risking kissing concrete.

That said, I was in this situation and "Trust your guards" came to mind, and I did and it was all ok.

[OriginalTwo]

The rounded back of the poweriser usually causes your foot to go up though, therefore bending your knee the 'wrong way'. If you aren't strong upper-body wise you can wrap your arms around your head and try to deflect using your elbow pads. Also remember:
Bums are padded for a reason.

[Mk]

yes i agree..."trust your guards"... i had a fall at the weekend and if it wasnt for my wristguards i think it would have been a trip to A&E....lol

[shakdaddy]

Ligament Tear-Watch Out!

I just met with a knee injury on my Risers.  I was jumping a little to high for my control level. 
When I hit the ground, the lower portion of my leg went out, while the portion of my leg above my knee stayed still.  The result was a bending of my knee in outward direction.  I fell hard and I knew something wasn't right.

I am waiting on my MRI but it is likely I have injured the inner ligament of my knee-possibly the ACL:
http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/aha/medollig.gif

Here is the different severity of Knee injuries. 

  Knee Ligament Injuries
Ligament injuries are usually graded in terms of their severity:
        Grade I sprain – some micro-tearing or slight stretching occurs, however the overall integrity of the ligament is preserved. The ligament hurts if stressed but is stable.
        Grade II sprain – partial disruption of the ligament. Painful to stress, there is detectable laxity but the ligament has an eventual endpoint.
        Grade III tear – complete ligament tear and laxity with no endpoint or stability to testing. As the nerves in the ligament are torn too, there is often minimal pain with stressing the joint.

I talked with the Osteopathic Physician and a brace seems to be the answer.

I have ordered the folllowing made by sixonesix.  It is hinged to prevent injuries like mine and also is designed to prevent hyperextension.  It is padded and quite likely will insure an even better fit on your risers:

http://store.bobscycle.com/browse.cfm/4,60053.htm

These are a little pricey at 49.99 USD, but there are certainly a wide range of prices (i.e.):

http://store.bobscycle.com/browse.cfm/4,62570.htm

[Bill C.]

I just want to point out that those are just knee guards, not knee braces.  They'll only help protect good knees.  If you've torn a knee ligament, you're going to need more protection than just that to prevent re-injury -- especially while bocking.  Frankly, I'm pretty shocked that your doctor recommended using just those guards.  Most doctors would tell you to get a sports brace that is specifically designed for ligament injuries such as the following:

http://www.townsenddesign.com/html/ligament.html

They can run $500 and upwards, but will most likely be covered if you have a good health insurance plan in the U.S.  Mine were covered so they didn't cost me anything.  Here is the brace I use for both knees due to my past knee surgeries.

http://www.townsenddesign.com/html/air_reliever.html


FYI -- My braces just BARELY squeeze into the standard Poweriser knee loop.  As you can see, this brace also provides a nice protection for my upper shin as it presses against the knee loop foam.

Good luck with the diagnosis.  Hopefully it isn't anything that is completely torn.

Bill C.

[shakdaddy]

Hey Bill,

Are those the braces you are using?  What about those motocross knee braces?

http://www.vitalmx.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=924&category_id=36&manufacturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=41

Doc gave me a DonJoy. 

http://www.kneesupport.com/donjoy/playmaker1.htm

What are your thoughts?

[Bill C.]

Here too, the motocross knee brace is a good protection for knees starting out in fine shape.  But you can see from the description that it does not indicate what type of medical knee injury it is good for -- because it is a sport device, not a medical device.  But before anyone with good knees goes running out to buy it for added protection, I would caution that there is a very good chance that it will not fit into the knee loop.

Donjoy is one of the top medical knee brace companies.  I have a pair of custom-fit fiberglass Donjoys that I wore after my ACLs were reconstructed.  Unfortunately, they would not fit through the knee loop due to their bulk and I had to custom make two new knee loops to accommodate them.  Your Donjoy looks like an off-the-shelf model with a covered metal side trip and straps -- which will not be as bulky and will probably fit into your loop.  You can check my set of yellow Donjoys and the knee loop I constructed here in my Tribes photo album:

http://people.tribe.net/bcicio/photos

These days, I use custom-fit fiberglass Air Townsend braces for my specific knee problems, and luckily they just squeeze into the knee loops without a mm to spare.

NOTE TO ALL....  My knee injuries were not a result of bocking.

Shakedaddy, are you having any surgery for your ligament?  Was it actually torn?

Bill C.

[shakdaddy]

Bill,
Looks like you should be the expert on this subject.  Like your mods. Very innovative.  To me, it just shows a certain level of dedication to the sport.
Great website too.  I saw a lot of stuff on there that I haven't seen anywhere else. I'm going to link it to my site.

www.getpowerizers.com

As far as my injury, it is a little over a week old.  My MRI is scheduled for tomorrow and I will know more at that point.  This is the first knee injury I have had.