KDXRIDER.NET

ive been contemplating the purchase of a set as my knees are the weak link in the equation, having Osgood Schlatter in my younger years has left my knees somewhat of a mess.

Now I've been reading up on them, and apparently wearing knee braces increases the risk of long bone breaks and are completely useless to some while others swear by them. I wanted to know what fellow kdx'ers have to say on the matter

Depends to me. I have arthritis in my knees and one gets pretty bad. I'm all for supporting hurt knees like mine, but mildly in favor of using them as a preventative. Chances of braces breaking your femur are a lot less than the chances of tossing a knee IMO. In a crash severe enough to break a femur, your overall chances of walking away are slim anyways, with or without braces. Even Drs that question the need for them, tend to side on the wear them side.

I don't wear braces, btw.

I always use the cloth ace braces, they help a lot with support, but don't "lock" the knee at all. They do have some flexible metal braces sewn in the sides. They basically take the pain and loose feeling out of the ride for me and don't interfere with gear.

I'm looking at the Evs Webb as they're on sale, the cloth/neoprene knee braces never did much for me playing soccer. I stretch lots before going out but I've jammed my leg on a couple rear end slip outs and I felt the wrath in my knees for a few days after. I just was rather shocked to hear a large number bashing braces saying they'll cause a femur break just above the brace... I'm not a motocross jumper or hardcore rider, but I do suffer with knee problems either on leg day at the gym or out riding and a brace in my eyes would help but I took the comments seriously about the femur that's some serious business breaking that one.. One more note that has me thinking is most posts are 10+ years old and I wonder how much validity they have with technology of today

I had an ACL/MCL tear a few years ago, and ALWAYS wear the brace I got during therapy when racing, or going hard/fast or when it's slippery. I am all for braces and need to pay up and get a pair with the knee cups.

A broken bone will heal, when your meniscus is gone, you will feel it forever. Look around and you will see a ton of guys limping around their whole lives from high school football knee injuries.

I limp around from soccer injuries in my younger years, they say osgood schlatter goes away as the bones finish growing either I'm gunna be 6'10" or they lie! Or I have something else going on in there

Usually OSD does tail off as you mature, but there is always the risk of a fracture to the tibial tuberosity thatcan lead to arthritic complications, and there is some anectdotal evidence that OSD may predispose adult arthritis in the knees, though the jury is still out on that (my nephew is an Ortho Surgeon). I have had the trifecta (ACL/LCL/MCL) on one leg and MCL on the other. I don't ride with braces instead having owned up to having to keep muscular strength up. Plus I just don't like the way they feel when I'm riding (I have tried the EVS and Alpinestars). My dad on the other hand won't even put his leg over the bike without his braces on. To be fair he has had complete reconstruction and now has an artificial knee due to some rather extensive injuries suffered in Viet Nam. He uses Ossur(?) braces that were recommended by his ortho guy and he loves them. I ride with several guys that use braces and they love them because it relieves some of the torque on their old bones. I think most of the flap over long bone breaks has never really been proven to be the fault of the brace, and you can just as easily make the case for the number of injuries they have probably prevented over the years. The same argument as for the Leatt neck brace basically. At the end of the day, what works for you is all that matters. See if you can find a pair to try and decide for yourself. Keep in mind that knee braces really need to be fit to your legs, most of the new ones on the market are very adjustable and easy to set up, take the time to do it right and see what you think. You may love them, you may end up using them to prop up a bookshelf.

I've got some pretty good arthritis going in one of my knees after hyper-extending it awhile back. Without the knee brace even just a quick dab can sometimes mean significant pain. I don't wear a brace on the other/good knee.

I would say definitely use them if you have a legitimate need. There have been instances of broken femurs resulting from get-offs while wearing stiff braces. A broken femur can be a life threatening condition, so just something to be aware of. My feeling has always been that if you have a need for them, definitely use them. If you do not, then don't use anything more than a flexible/soft brace.

Crashed my Vulcan in April, type 6 tibial plateau fracture and a A/C joint separation in my left shoulder. Just had the A/C joint repaired so I'm still out for a couple more months. Will definitely be wearing a brace on the right knee.


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Looking to upgrade this thread. I would be interested to know what you guys wear - braces, guards, or nothing.

I have not had any ligament surgery in the past, but the knees are old and beat up at age 52, and a prior street bike wreck broke one femur. Definitely want impact protection for the knee cap. Not too wound up on rigid braces if they are uncomfortable and keep wanting to slide down. Hate that! I hear most braces make it hard to squeeze legs to the bike? But the preventive aspect of braces are appealing now at my age.

Not too crazy expensive, not too much bulk... with good knee cap impact protection. The EVS R9 Pro or maybe find left over Asterisk Cyto Cell ? Thoughts?

I bought the Leatt dual axis guards last year and I like them. Very comfortable and the performed exactly how I need them to, a few weeks ago.

These are on close out at a real good price. I paid full retail last year.
https://www.btosports.com/p/leatt-dual- ... aQod5qUDvA

David - do you wear them over or under pants? (how bulky)

I've been wearing them over jeans, but I just picked up a pair of Fox 180 pants. Haven't tried them in yet, but was planning to wear the over the pants too.


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