Recommendations on a knee brace for Aikido

[rabbivj]

Greetings, I will be starting up Yoshinkan Aikido in a couple of weeks, and I need to purchase a knee brace for my knee which I had injured 5 years ago in Lacrosse. My condition is that I have a subluxing patella. When I studied 7 star praying mantis I used a knee brace which wasn't too bad, but my brace is falling appart and I want to get a stronger brace. I was wondering if anyone with a similar experience can provide me with a couple of recommendations.

[Chuck Clark]

I have gotten good service from these folks. The braces made by Don Joy have good reputations. I have used various designs of his for over 10 years.

Look at: http://www.jointhealing.com/store/index.html

[rabbivj]

I have used mueller in the past, but I have heard good things about Donjoy, I am probably going to get a hinged brace.

this is the one I am looking at.

http://www.kneeshop.com/muellerhinged.htm

[chrismoses]

For several years I wore a Body Glove patella stabalizer. I used the U shaped one to keep my kneecap in place. I've got enough leg strength now that I don't need one anymore, but these let me keep training. Looks like they've changed the name (no longer Body Glove) but they're the same. I typically got about six months out of a brace before they were shot.

Here's a link.

I don't like the hinged designs because it impairs your ability to land in a hardfall, too much metal on the side. What got me out of a brace was my sword school. We do lots of leg work, I'd recommend doing as many lunges as possible to build up your muscles that stabalize the knee. Good luck, and do yourself a favor and be really careful with the 'hanmi' favored in Aikido. It's my beleif that the misuse of hanmi leads to the myriad of knee injuries we see in Aikido. Line your legs up if you want to walk when you're 80.

[rabbivj]

a couple of things I am worried about is suwari waza and shikkohou. From what I understand, that does put a lot of stress on your knees. I will consider which brace to purchase soon.

What is nice is that the Dojo I am going to be training at will be offering Iaido as well so I will probably be doing both.

In terms of Hanmi, I took a sampler class in Aikido about a year ago, the stances are very similar to Toyama Ryu Iaido, and Ju-Jitsu. I will also be going to the gym more to get my knee strengthened, something I failed to do earlier...

[Sillal]

a couple of things I am worried about is suwari waza and shikkohou. From what I understand, that does put a lot of stress on your knees. I will consider which brace to purchase soon.

When I did Aikido I had trouble with suwari waza as well and a brace really doesn't help with this. I can't imagine whatever school you go to would have a problem with you sitting out on this if it is flaming your knee up though. Not everyone can do everything in the MA they choose which is ok.

[chrismoses]

If your knee is weakened and in danger of dislocation, but you have full range of motion, seiza may not be a problem. Because of the way the bones of the knee fit together, the knee structure is actually much more stable when fully flexed. The difficulty can come if there is damage or scar tissue that keeps you from bending the knee far enough to sit in seiza. Even when my knee bothered me, I would frequently ditch the brace for extended zagi training. Sports braces are not designed with full flex in mind. You are most vulnerable to further damage when your leg is straight or nearly straight and you are pivoting, so this is where braces come in handy. Again, good luck.

If you have a sports medicine doctor or PT that you have worked with in the past you might make an appointment to have them take a look at you and recommend a brace or even tape. Well done tape can be very supportive.

[Bruce Mitchell]

Hi guys,
Both my kneecaps had a tendency to sublux, ultimately resulting in two severe dislocations of my left knee. I ultimately opted for patella re-alignment on the knee that had dislocated. Not a fun surgery (no weight bearing for a month or two, six months in a leg brace, and another six months of rehap before I went on a mat again). Post op, my Doc had me wear a "J" brace. The hinged braces are for the folks with the ligament tears (ACL, etc).

A good physical therapist can help you re-train your muscle groups so that you have better tracking. I'm now ten years out from that surgery, and have been lifting weights consistantly for the last eight of those. Doing squats has done wonders for my knee, and I have been injury free/95% pain free since. I would caution you to avoid doing lunges of any type. If your knee strays out of alignment or past your toes, all of the stress is taken up by the patella tendon. I saw a guy at the gym snap his patella tendon this way, and his knee cap ended up in the middle of his thigh. But really, the best thing to do is to talk to a qaulified orthopediac specialist, find a goood PT, and follow their advice religioulsy.

[rabbivj]

I may go see an orthopedic surgeon soon just to make sure I have some correct information as to what I am going to need. My regular doctor (who is an internist btw) but has had a lot of knee surgeries recommended the hinged brace.

[Budoka 34]

I wore the high end DonJoy (custom) after my ACL tear. It held up well through the rigors of Karate, Jiujitsu and Aikido. I wore it for close to three years atleast 20 hours a week and the only problem I had was with the pads coming unglued due to sweat or wearing out the velcro.
The pads and straps can be costly.

Hope this helps.

[Bruce Mitchell]

Good luck Dan,
FWIW, while your internest might be a good Doc, when it comes to the knees, you really should seek out a top notch orthopedic surgeon. I would ask around a lot too, since not all knee Doc's are created equal (I flew to Massachuttes to have my knee done, and will return there in a heartbeat if I have another problem).

[rabbivj]

Thanks Bruce,

Actually I am going to see the surgeon that I saw about 5 years ago when I blew out my knee, he gave me some good exercises to do (which i havent stuck to which is my fault) on a good recommendation.

[ross_l]

I would definately go see a doctor about it. I recently sprained my MCL and my doctor prescribed a hinged brace for me.

The good news is that it was paid for by insurance. The bad news is that I bent the steel rods on the sides the first time I used it. I can only image the force it must have taken to bend them!

[ross_l]

Whoops,

I forgot to include my full name on my last post. I also wanted to mention that I train in Yoshokai Aikido and the breakfalls are very similar to those in Yoshinkan Aikido. So you may encounter the bending brace problem as well.

Ross Lewandowski

[rachmass]

You will need to consult your doctor or physical therapist for a prescription brace. I have a DonJoy ACL brace which I have been wearing for 7 years now (3rd one) as when I don't wear it, my knee is too sore to practice for days or weeks afterwards (did not opt for surgery from an ACL tear so it is weakend). The brace you get really should be specific to your injury, as an ACL brace won't help for a patella injury. BTW, you can do suwari waza with the DonJoy braces, but koshi's kill!