Knee brace options...

Im not sure but If im right hard braces support your knee better but they are heavy and have to be worn over the snowpants while skiing like this guy..... and i guess it can get annoying while dirtbiking also

Ive worn a soft brace while skiing and it didnt bother me so i guess you should go with that

soft braces shift alot, and the metal rails dont really stay in place, but they are cheaper however. metal braces can be custome fit and move right along with you knee. but they cost way more

did you ask what your doctor thought about the kind of brace you should get? I'm sure a hard one protects you better. I can't see a reason why you couldn't wear some hard ones under snowpants though. My friend wears a hard brace during soccer and it would certainly fit under snowpants.

my dad and all his friends have hard braces.

they all wear them under their pants

i would strongly recommend a hard brace

Hard braces.. for example Donjoy Armor or Össur CTi..

I was wearing a soft brace when I blew up my ACL skiing at Kicking Horse.  In addition to surgery and six months of rehab, my doc prescribed me a custom-fit CTi brace to wear.  It's a $1600 carbon fiber brace that doesn't weigh much and fits under my base layer pants.  It shifts a little, but it's not so bad.  I'd rather wear that than do 9 hours of rehab a week for six months.  That shit gets old real fast.

Uhm, a knee brace doesn't substitute for PT.

And whoever said you have to wear a hard brace over your pants has no idea what he is talking about. Everyone wears them under their pants, which is what I am going to do. I am getting fitted for a custom donjoy sometime soon because I blew out my ACL back in January. Yay 10 weeks out of surgery.

the asterisk braces were invented for moto x, turns out they work great for skiing too. expensive like 350 each, but less than a surgury or any amount of time on the couch

I'm pretty sure he meant that it's better to wear a brace, that shifts around a little, than getting injured and having to go through PT after a knee surgery..

Alright... this is coming from someone who has had knee problems/surgeries my entire life.

Össur CTi braces are awesome but they're really only if you've had a ACL injury and will only be prescribed if such. I'm sure they would help prevent a ACL injury, but it won't help your pain so don't waste $500 on each knee for one.

All hard braces are made to support injured or post-op knees, and will never help actual knee pain.

Soft braces can help knee pain with daily life routines, but I have found that because they are usually so thick, they prevent my full range of motion and make landings even harder on them... causing more pain.

If they hurt that bad I would really start going to PT or at least learn some home-strengthening exercises. As much as you think skiing would make your thigh muscles really strong, when you do it everyday it really doesn't. The more you start strengthening those muscles the more they will help support your knees.

You also could have cartilage or meniscus damage which can be seen by getting an MRI done. In that case, the only way the pain will ever go away is surgery.

LASTLY, Where exactly is your pain? Underneath you knee cap? Below? On the sides of your knees? Does either knee ever give out or lock up? All knee braces, exercises etc. are very different.

I can probably help you with a few things if I know where it's hurting.

The pain is on both knees but more so on my right. and it is under the knee and begind the knee on the leg. I believe its called oscarsshlaughters (?) he said knee braces would help a ton with controlling the pain and ROM and stuff like that.

thanks everyone else for your imput and. i'm leaning more towards a hard brace right now they seem to be better overall.

Osgood-Schlatter? (I'm guessing that's what your doctor said)

yeah that sounds right thanks man!

Ok so i've narrowed down the brace to a hard brace and i cant decide on a PODmx k700 or a Asterisk Cell... anyone have any reviews on either of those braces?