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Way back in August last year, I injured my
knee. Two orthopedic doctors, a physio therapist and two
sports doctors later (plus a couple more incidents with my
knee popping and leaving me on the mat in excruciating pain),
it was determined that I had a severe tear in my anterior
cruciate ligament (ACL). This apparently is a very common
injury as the ACL is the hardest working ligament in the knee.
I am on the waiting list for ACL reconstructive surgery (tissue
from my hamstring is going to be used to reconstruct my ACL),
but as the wait for elective surgery is about 6 - 8 months,
my doctor suggested that I pick up a heavy duty knee brace
to allow me to keep active.
The G2 Extreme knee brace is a custom fitted brace consisting
of an outer shell made of TRIAX (which is an alloy of nylon
and ABS plastics), a thigh strap, hinged joint, two calf straps
and a knee strap. I was surprised at how light the whole thing
was. At first, the brace felt a little stiff. It took a little
while to learn how to get the brace on correctly. I had one
incident with it where I did not tighten the knee strap enough
(the knee strap is probably the most important strap on the
brace as it is responsible for keeping your knee stable) and
ended up having my knee pop while I was holding the kicking
sheild for my partner. Now that I have figured out the perfect
strap tightness and brace positioning for me, I can continue
to participate in my kickboxing classes.
The brace isn't cheap (about $1000 Canadian), but if you
have an ACL injury and your doctor suggests picking up one
of these, I would definitely recommend it.
For more information on the G2 Extreme knee brace, visit
GII Orthotics Inc.
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