ACL knee brace

[sachin_patel]

Hi All,

Story:
I got ACL surgery (Cadaver Patellar graft) last year July... I'll be completing one full year in about 2 weeks..
I started hitting against wall for a bit a month ago and also started jogging after that and got my knee sore at times.. had to rest for 2-3 days after that.. so started not pushing too much after that..
This also made me think about a brace..

I had final doctor's appointment 3 days ago and doctor cleared me for playing..
I played against a friend yesterday and felt very good.. I could run around without any issues and pain in the knee.. (almost forgot that I had acl surgery)

However, I have read in past that for some people the cadaver graft failed.. its little weaker than other grafts and I want to use a brace as a precaution..

I am not considering brace as alternative to rehab.. I'll continue all the knee exercises I am doing..

But to add little more safety, I want to try and keep knee brace on when playing..

I am not going for prescribed brace because its gonna cost me $700.

So I am looking for a knee brace that I can buy myself and has good track record.. something under $100.

Any recommendations?

Thanks,

 

[fantom]

My ACL reconstruction was in 2008. My ortho surgeon basically said that there is no brace that can protect your ACL for tennis (cutting/changing direction injury). The high dollar braces work in sports like football where the injury happens due to a blow to the side of the knee.

 

[sachin_patel]

My ACL reconstruction was in 2008. My ortho surgeon basically said that there is no brace that can protect your ACL for tennis (cutting/changing direction injury). The high dollar braces work in sports like football where the injury happens due to a blow to the side of the knee.

I do understand.. that's why I will focus on exercises..
I still want for a second safety measure..

it may or may not help.. but at least having it when playing will not worsen my condition..

 

[fantom]

Trusting your knee mentally is one of the hardest things about coming back from ACL recon. If the brace helps that, then go for it.

 

[couch]

When I tore mine back in 1998 I used a brace playing tennis, etc until my one year anniversary and haven't used one since. I believe the brace helps more with proprioception than anything when playing tennis. Proprioception is knowing where your knee is in space. Kinda like being able to touch your nose with your index finger with your eyes closed.

If your knee is structurally sound and you have done your rehab properly, you shouldn't need a brace for tennis. Just my two cents.

 

[RogueFLIP]

IMO, if you're forgetting you had the surgery while playing, that's a good sign that you don't need a brace.

As others have mentioned, it actually won't prevent you from injuring yourself again.

I think the more you keep playing without one, the more confident you'll be in your knee.

I def wore my knee brace after my surgery far longer than I needed too....totally mental. But I did have a custom one, so it was def less cumbersome than the stock ones.

But I decided one day to just quit the brace cold turkey and there hasn't been a problem since.

The choice is yours. Good luck.

 

[sachin_patel]

So after reading some of the encouraging inputs, I finally decided to quit using brace. I have been playing since then and at almost same level as my game prior to injury so feeling good.

I hope this continues forever.

 

[donquijote]

I had ACL operation in 2006 and I have never used knee brace after the surgery. I read that it actually has no proven benefits but people including some pros feel better psychologically when they wear it. My operated knee is still not as strong as the non-operated one after all these years but that was expected and I was told by my surgeon.