What makes a CTI better than a DonJoy?

So I blew out my new this year riding in a tourny.. Im about 2 months post op now, and am beginning to look at braces. My PT and Surgeon both are big DonJoy guys. They are not very familiar with CTI or ossur in general. They were however asking a question that I didnt really know the answer too. What makes CTI preferred over DonJoy for wakeboarders? They were curious if it was just a popular thing, or if there were actually advantages that the CTI had over DJ. Thanks guys for any input.

I had the same thing with my orthopedic surgeon, they both were big into DJ, and knew nothing about CTi, I would also appreciate any info from some knowledgeable people!

My doctors are big donjoy guys too. After my second ACL reconstruction they wanted me to get another DonJoy. After 3 weeks of the Donjoy rep missing appointments with me at my office, I begged them to write me a script for a CTI. Love my CTI, does not slide down like the Donjoy, is much more comfortable, maybe less durable, but so far so good.

so.....whats the verdict? don-joy are more durable, less comfy and cti is the oppisite? im confused

My son has worn DonJoy for 2.5 years with no problems slipping. It has been extremely durable. We are just now ordering new pads and straps. He has a partially torn ACL and it has remained constant with no full tear for all this time. I have heard that CTI is a lighter brace. I feel it is a personal preference for which brace you decide. Lots of people like Bledsloe also.

If the only reason is because it is the popular one that all the pros use, but the DJ would be just or possibly more effective then I would be interested in the DJ. However, I dont feel that is the issue. They even mentioned that possibly alot of the pros get perks for pushing cti, and that alone may be the reason for seeing so much of them. I really like the looks of the CTI, but just curious which is the best brace...

I would also like to say, I bought a CTI OTS model at the first of this year.. well I was wearing it when I blew out my knee in the comp. I dont fault the brace, I mostly fault my ignorance for not knowing to have the AMS. I think that it slid down. I am hoping that a custom one with the strap will hold alot better.

my donjoy comes loose when I ride and it really sucks.

Alright here is my .02 cents. I work in the orthopedic field and I am around this stuff a good bit. The Docs that are saying they prefer DJ is because they have a really good long lasting relationship with their DJ rep. With that being said, I feel like both are great braces. DJ has been around from the get go. Little history. The guys that started DJ sold the company a while back and started Breg. So its pretty much the same deal. As far as CTI goes, I feel like they jumped on the extreme sport train and asked for as much feedback from MX racers snowboarders and wakeboarders as they could get. From being around both braces on and off the water I think the reason I would go with a CTI is how well it stays in place after getting wet. With the DJ you will get a little more slipping going on because of the material used on the straps. If that is not an issue for you, then you can't go wrong with either one.

On a side note: no knee brace is equal to or better than strong stabilizing muscles. But it doesn't hurt to wear one. I have seen torn ACL's with them and without them.

Yeah I have two CTI's on my legs and love them. They are super comfy, and don't slip at all in the water with the AMS wrap. Super light weight and I can hardly feel them on my legs. Tore my ACL in my left knee, and just recently tore my meniscus in my right knee and will be scoping it in November.


Like Justin said, you knee can blow with or without a brace, but I personally feel much more confident with them on.

so the cti seems to be the way to go

i have two cti prosports used for only 1 season. in good shape R and L mediums. $580 each new. pm me if interested. great braces.

Justin, slipping? I can tighten the thing down almost cutting off the circulation on my
leg and either one kicker hit or a few rail hits with an Ollie and the thing is at my knee.
I will say that when it's on I have no pain after riding and you are right, if you just work on
your quad strength your knee will be pretty safe.

Kyle, did you get a custom fit or off the self? Also which brand do you have?

Since it looks like I will be getting a custom one, Ive got a CTI Prosport OTS Left Leg Large that I got early this season.. Didnt even get to use it much. Still got the box and everything if anyones interested.. 350.00 obo.. PM me

p.s. get a custom brace. i have two CTI prosport customs... but there are no gaurantees. i blew my right knee while wearing a brace. make sure you stay on top of your rehab and stretch everyday to stay limber PLEASE. brace comes second to your physical fitness. i promise.

I just sent back 2 custom CTI's due to some slight stress cracks. They were beat to hell riding MX and wakeboarding for 2 years. No questions asked and they refurbished them no charge. They replaced all the straps (even though they are not under warrranty) and I had them back in one week. I was impressed. I have no experience with DJ but love the CTI's. I did have Bledsoes and they sucked. Everytime I turned around I was buying new straps, they always slipped, and they left a knot on my shin.

So i just ordered some stuff off of the donjoy website that is apparently supposed to make the brace stay on better. Should be here in a few days so I guess we will wait and see.
Justin, I got the custom fit Defiance. I just ordered the supra condylar pad and the neoprene suspension strap for it and re-customize it myself. If that doesn't work, do they make any sort of water resistant velcro?

One advantage to CTI is that there are no rigid components on the back of your leg. The Donjoy has a rigid frame around the back of your calf if I'm not mistaken. If you squat down when you land you could pinch that rigid frame between your calf and hamstring. I've also heard the issue of other braces slipping.

I've been riding in a CTI Prosport Custom since April. Had ACL replacement last Aug. Love the brace. My doc was not familiar with CTI either, I'm actually the first one they've ordered I think. They primarily use DonJoy. I educated them on the benefits of CTI for wakeboarding. He told me he'd write a script for whatever brace I wanted.

In the end it's your choice, same as what type of surgery/graft you want. If you want a certain brace your doctor needs to accomodate.

Custom means they took a measurement of your quad and calf and designed the brace just for you. Off the shelf means they just fit you with a small med or large kinda thing.

For Custom CTI's they actually take a cast of your legs, ship the casts to Ossur, then the braces are created to match your legs. I've been riding CTI for the past 7 years. No torn anything, just deteriorating cartilage in both knees. My braces get thrown through the ringer every year between motocross racing/practicing, wakeboarding, snowboarding and downhill mountain biking. My braces do develop small stress cracks but it is nothing to fret. I have ripped out the hyperextension stops and bent hinges on the braces before. I send the braces back at least once every year for refurbishment. As stated above they are usually returned within a week totally fresh from the ground up.

Another nice feature is the patella cup protection that Velcro's right in for off the water activities and some added protection.

Personally I hate Don Joy's as they slip and pinch my nerves. If I was not riding CTI's my knees would be wrapped in Asterisk knee braces. Designed for the moto world they look super burly under a pair of boardshorts. however they are the best over the counter brace available other than CTI. defiantly worth checking out.

Same doc experiences as others, they only know DJ
The CTI was a pain to get had to go 45 min away
Have a customCTI for my rebuilt side, it stays in place great
the OTS- CTI (off the shlf )I have for the right comes undone all of the time
I am still trying to find the right way to keep it from coming undone, but it is a pain while I am riding

I have the fource point DonJoy and fits snug and no problems. (Been riding with it in the water for 2 months now) I choose donjoy cause I was able to get a super light brace and short version of the brace. No slipping problems.

So hears two questions for those who have, or seen both..

1. There are a few guys around here who say they have got custom braces, but their cti's look just like my OTS.. I wonder if they just went somewhere that measured there knee for the OTS or something. Or do the custom ones look just like the OTS models now. I was under the impression that on the custom ones, the bottom had more a hard surface, where the OTS seems to have the softer that goes around your leg.
(I attached what I thought the custom and Ots look like)

2. Does the Custom seem to stay in place better than the OTS?

White one above is the custom. I have riden with the OTS a lot. It is an awesome brace but can't wait to get my custom done after surgery.

Ive had both. Had DJ first. it always slipped and my knee hurt the entire season. I switched to CTI the next year no slip, no knee pain. I doubt Pros will wear any knee brace for money or anything. No knees= no career. doubt they would take that chance for any price.

I wear a CTI Vapor custom on both knees. One is 7 years old, one 9. I dont wear the sleeve they give you cause they are too much of a pain in the ass to put on and are just too much. Mine dont slide much at all. took a while to get the straps broke in so I knew how tight to go... i sometimes have to adjust on top of the water. Both injuries WERE ACLs, obviously 7 and 9 years ago roughly. Just tore my patellar tendon last month wearing the brace, so obviously they arent a lock to prevent injury but id buy another one in a heartbeat. Like it was said earlier in the thread, but someone asked again, they cast mold your leg and make the brace to fit. One of my bros has the generic one (maybe called the OTS, I dont know) but he has to use duct tape to keep it from sliding. Suckers arent cheap but if you have good insurance, its the only way to go! Only thing I really dont like is the straps... I think it would be sweet if they had like a boa system or like a snowboard binding type ratchet or something so they would be easier to tighten on the water/snow and to help prevent them from coming loose. I have had wipeouts where some of the straps come loose... and worst of all....they dont float.... need to figure that out cause my buddy lost his trying to throw it in the boat and we missed the catch... expensive loss...

...also, when i got my last one, they even put graphics on it for no extra charge... saw the post about refurbishing them... i think when i get a new one here im gonna have my two refurbed... they are well overdue...

Good luck with the rehab... if it was an ACL (cant remember now that im typing here), check out my post from back in the day... here...
http://www.wakeworld.com/forum/showt...47#post1632847

Hey everyone... I don't like to chime in here too often as it is obvious that I have a vested interest in positively promoting CTi. I like to let the guys and girls that are using our products speak about them for us. These forums are for riders to gather unbiased feedback from each other. I understand that. That being said, I do sometimes post some comments when I feel I can actually help or if something is not being stated accurately. Here are a couple things I want to comment on based on this thread.
1. We (CTi/Ossur) have never paid any of our team riders to wear our products. We have only supplied them with the product when they have come to us. Many of them actually had other braces prior (prescribed by their docs) and had no confidence them due to various reasons.
2. The custom CTi braces can be either casted or measured for. There are 23 unique measurements that are taken and the braces are made from raw materials - not prefabricated pieces that are bent to be called "custom" fit.
3. We have an information sheet on our website specific to the benefits of the CTi for wakeboarding. You can print it out and bring it in to help educate your doc on the differences. It is located at www.ossur.com/cti

Once again, I am not trying to turn this into an advertisement. I just wanted to straighten a few things out. Thanks... ride safe & have fun!

...Brett

I have experience in the orthopedic field. I also have experience with several braces. All of the braces on the market provide great level of protection from knee injuries. They are not a "sure thing" though. I think the DJ is a good brace but it does have slipping problems. The CTi is also a good brace but out of the sports arena they do not have a big presence in the orthopedic market. CTi is in the market they just have a small market share. I personally have a Breg Fusion brace, I love it as much as anyone can love having to wear a brace. It is light, comfortable and stays in place. As far as the custom vs OTS it boils down to your leg size and how long you are going to have the brace. An OTS knee brace will fit very well as long as your measurements fall in the middle of the OTS range. A custom is just that custom for your leg. The other difference is that most OTS have a much shorter warrenty period than a custom. So if you plan on wearing your brace a long time then go for a custom.

the reason cti is more popular is cause they actually care about wakeboarding and sponsor riders and poor money into the sport. Don Joy would rather play football all day lameee.

Hey guys, not to hijack a thread but I've got a question about using my brace with the AMS

When I use the AMS strap, I remove the pad so that the AMS strap can be Velcro directly to the brace. My only beef with that is that there is now some exposed velcro that is either rubbing my calf when I'm wakeboarding or it't ripping my socks apart while snowboarding.

Does anyone else have this problem? Better yet, does anyone have a solution?