Knee Injury Prevention?

[GazawayTM]

I have pretty weak knees. Ive been doing a workout to help strengthen them up, but what about wearing a brace to help prevent injury. Anybody have any input on this and what are some good basic brace brands? Academy has like 30 different kinds, but I wasn't sure what I would actually need.

Thanks

[jbcs16]

My knees are terrible as well, I've had 3 surgeries on my right and 1 on the left. I wear a brace to ride, but it is a custom made brace from my orthopaedic surgeon. It definitely provides support and makes riding more comfortable, but my right knee still swells everytime I ride. I usually ride a few times a week so it pretty much stays swollen all summer. I have heard some say that braces don't prevent injuries, but I don't know. They do make you more comfortable. Have you injured your knees before?
The other thing that I did that helped TREMENDOUSLY is get a flex board. I learned to ride on a CWB Faze which was great to learn on, but not a comfortable ride as I progressed. This summer I bought a Slingshot board and it absorbs so much of the stress on the knees.

[mseller]

http://www.buywake.com/catalog/Accessories/kneeBraces I wear a Don Joy Defiance III that I got through insurance. But for your situation I'd go with the CTI brace on that page

[LaynDoor]

It has been medically proven that a brace WILL NOT help prevent injury to a healthy knee... no ethical Dr will perscribe a brace to someone without an injury.

[dalderman]

Your knee is a joint that you can't strengthen by exercise. However you can strengthen the muscles in leg which will lead to more stability. If you have a healthy knee that just gets sore after you ride then you need to focus on building more strength in your leg.
Start with squats, lunges, calf raises and leg presses on a weekly basis and you'd be surprised at how much stronger you'll ride. If you don't have access to weights, you can still do strength building using your own body weight.
I do wear a CTI custom brace for stability because I'm missing my ACL, medial meniscus and have arthritus in my left knee. But strength training has allowed me to continue and ride on a regular basis.

[cubbies017]

You are going to want to wear a brace to keep your knees stable.

[GazawayTM]

I know that I am suppose to strengthen the muscles around my knee for support. Ive been lifting for about 4 years, so I am familiar with what moves I need to be doing. I added box jumps to my leg workouts recently, which I've read that a lot of riders are doing.

I just haven't read enough on brace support, so I was just wondering what you guys thought. I did a little more reading on it, and saw that there isn't really any evidence on preventing injuries with them.

[pluto2]

try bending your knees to about a 120 degress position and hold it for as long you can, I find wake boarding to be more alot more of endurance of leg muscles than just bulk strength

[9DROZD]

The biggest thing with knees, you can strengthen all the muscles around your knee all you want, this will help a ton, but its when you fall and the awkward position your knee gets into, you cant particularly flex those muscles during your fall which is where you start tearing ligaments.

[TheHebrewHammer]

[LaynDoor]

[9DROZD]

Dunno if this helps but last year in June i tore my knee up. ACL, Meniscus, Micro Fracture done and sprained MCL off a double up. After my 6 month checkup my dr was asking what knee brace i wanted and scheduled an appointment at the 10 month mark to get fitted for a brace. It was prescribed and my insurance would have covered it except my deductible was so high. I bought a CTI custom for $660.00 and havent looked back. Definitely helps on falls because it wont let your knee twist or move in awkward positions.